Israel allows more aid into Gaza as 369 Palestinians set to be released
More aid has finally entered Gaza following a tense showdown between Israel and Hamas that threatened the ceasefire deal concluded in January.
Ever since the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president and his declared plan to "clean out" two million Palestinians from Gaza and "own it", alongside accusations by Hamas that Israel has failed to stick to the terms of the agreement, the ceasefire has been under threat.
After Hamas called on Israel to keep to the terms of the deal if it wanted the next tranche of captives released on Saturday as planned, Trump threatened that “all hell will break loose” unless all the living captives were released instead.
Israel then warned of a "new Gaza war of another intensity altogether" that would "allow the realisation of Trump's vision for Gaza".
However, intensified efforts by Egypt and Qatar succeeded in "overcoming the obstacles" hindering the agreement, AFP reported, citing Egyptian state media.
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In accordance with the truce deal, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has now identified the three Israeli captives set for release on Saturday as Yair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Alexandre Sasha Troufanov.
In exchange, 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails will be released.
Meanwhile, Israel has allowed the entry of some aid convoys, consisting mostly of humanitarian supplies.
According to Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum, heavy machinery and mobile houses are still obstructed from entering into Gaza, and remain at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border.
"This is despite the Israeli promises to change behaviour regarding restricting aid supplies, including the entry of reconstruction equipment that is required to afford immediate shelter for Palestinians who are living on the ruins of their destroyed homes," Azzoum said.
He added that Israel was waiting on the release of captives before it adheres to the ceasefire agreement.
A life-threatening minefield
For the past month, Israel has blocked the entry of the homes and bulldozers, which form part of the "humanitarian protocol" in the ceasefire agreement.
This has severely hindered efforts to clear rubble, search for the missing and recover the bodies of thousands of victims still trapped beneath the debris.
Earlier this week, the Palestinian health ministry said that at least 641 bodies had been retrieved since the ceasefire began on 19 January, but around 11,000 more are thought to be under the rubble.
Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement and hindered the entry of aid.
Over 90 people have been killed since the truce started, leaving more than 800 wounded, while Gaza has become a life-threatening minefield.
On Thursday evening, a child was killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip after an explosive ordnance detonated.
The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has previously raised concerns that between five to 10 percent of weapons fired into Gaza have failed to detonate, leaving behind deadly hazards.
Luke Irving, UNMAS head in the occupied Palestinian territories, said in late January briefing that “humanitarian convoys are finding items more and more, as we reach new areas which we previously could not get to, including large aircraft bombs, mortars, anti-tank weapons, rockets and rifle grenades."
Meanwhile, in violation of the truce, the Israeli army announced that it had conducted an attack on Gaza on Thursday.
Israeli fighter jets struck the Bureij camp, killing 15-year-old Anas Saqr An-Nabahin, Wafa reported.
Since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, the death toll in Gaza stands at 48,239, with 111,676 more wounded, according to the latest figures by the health ministry in Gaza.
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