Netanyahu And Kushner Meet As Gaza Ceasefire’s First Phase Winds Down

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss the next stages of the fragility. Gaza After the ceasefire, Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians.

ruins four hostages They are still in Gaza after Palestinian militants released the remains of another on Sunday.

First phase of the ceasefire agreement The practice, which came into force on October 10, is nearing its end. The next stage calls for the establishment of a governing body for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. It is unclear where either of them are.

Israel ended the previous ceasefire agreement at the beginning of this year after a period in which hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. At the time, mediators failed to bring Hamas and Israel to the table on a plan for troop withdrawal and future governance of Gaza.

In exchange for every Israeli hostage returned, Israel releases the remains of 15 Palestinians; This is a shift that is central to the first phase of the ceasefire. The Gaza Ministry of Health said the total number of bodies retrieved was 315.

The ministry said only 91 people were identified. Forensic studies are complicated by the lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The ministry posts photos of the remains online in the hope that families will recognize them.

A mother waited at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, wondering if her missing 15-year-old son was among the newly returned remains. He disappeared on October 7, 2023, while on his way to school, during the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war.

Shaima Abu Ouda said, “Rayyan has been missing for two years. I don’t know her fate, whether she is still alive or dead.” He said he got lost near the wall separating Gaza from southern Israel. Her husband and eldest son were killed during the war.

On Sunday, Israel confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the incident. Gaza Strip A painful era ended for the country in 2014. The 23-year-old was killed two hours after the ceasefire came into force in the war between Israel and Hamas that year.

His remains were the only remains left in Gaza before the current war. War between Israel and Hamas. A funeral was planned for Tuesday.

In the attack on Israel led by Hamas in 2023, around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed and 251 people were kidnapped.

On Saturday, the Gaza Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza had risen to 69,176. The count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical experts, keeps detailed records that are generally considered reliable by independent experts.

Israeli government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu and Kushner discussed the course and future of the ceasefire.

The agreement focused on the first phase, which consisted of stopping the fighting, releasing all hostages, and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase have not yet been determined.

Kushner was also helping lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150 to 200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin’s remains, according to a person close to the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks.

Bedrosian did not say where the negotiations would lead.

Hamas had no comment on a possible exchange of its fighters trapped in the so-called yellow zone controlled by Israeli forces, but acknowledged that clashes were taking place there.

Palestinians in an Israeli-occupied West Bank village Umm al-KhayrIsrael, featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Country,” was preparing for the arrival of Israeli military bulldozers on Monday.

The documentary chronicles the villagers’ efforts to survive state-sponsored demolitions and increasing violence from Israeli settlers.

Residents say Israel has ordered the demolition of 14 structures, including a community centre, greenhouses and family homes. A press release from the community stated that demolition could begin as early as Tuesday.

Israel says the structures were built illegally. Residents determined to remain on their land say it is impossible to obtain building permits in the West Bank, leaving them with no choice but to rebuild their homes after the demolitions.

Bimkom, an Israeli rights group focused on urban planning, says that between 2016 and 2021, Israel rejected 99% of Palestinian requests for building permits in Area C of the West Bank, where Umm al-Khair is located.

The village was founded in the 1950s by traditional nomadic people known as Bedouin, who settled here after being uprooted from the Negev desert during the 1948 war surrounding the founding of Israel. Twenty years later, Umm al-Khair came under Israeli security control when Israel captured the West Bank.

Residents say settler attacks began in the 1980s after Israel built the Carmel settlement near Umm al-Khair.

Earlier this year, an internationally sanctioned Israeli settler shot and killed a community leaderAwdah Hathaleen stands inside the community center slated for demolition.