Israel Violates Ceasefire Deal by Halving Aid Entering Gaza Over the Number of Bodies Released by Hamas

Israel has informed the UN that it will only allow 300 aid trucks to enter Gaza per day, keep the Rafah crossing closed, and block virtually all fuel and gas shipments into Gaza until Hamas releases all of the remains of Israeli captives, which still need to be located under the rubble.

Under the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel agreed to allow 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza per day, the minimum the UN says is needed to bring relief to the civilian population that has been starving under the Israeli siege.

So far, Hamas has released eight out of 28 of the bodies of hostages that remain in Gaza. Israel is accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal, but it was aware that it would take time to recover the remains before the ceasefire deal was signed.

“During Gaza negotiations, Israel understood it would take time to recover all bodies of deceased captives. A specific mechanism for recovering the bodies was agreed,” Drop Site News reporter Jeremy Scahill, who has reported extensively on the ceasefire negotiations, wrote on X. “Now Israel is pretending that didn’t happen so it can violate the deal and cut the agreed aid shipments in half.”