DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli raids in Gaza on Thursday killed nine people, including three women, a day after the U.S. announced that the fragile ceasefire would move into a second phase.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the cease-fire announcement as largely symbolic, raising questions about how its most challenging elements will be implemented.
Speaking to the parents of the last Israeli hostage whose remains are still in Gaza, Netanyahu said late on Wednesday that the Palestinian governing committee announced as part of the second phase was only a “declarative move” rather than the sign of progress described by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The parents of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili previously pressed Netanyahu not to advance the ceasefire until their son’s remains are returned, the Israel Forum for Hostages and Missing Families said on Wednesday.
Netanyahu told Gvili’s parents that his return remains a top priority.
The announcement of the second phase of the ceasefire marked a significant step forward, but left many questions unanswered.
These include the formation of the apolitical governing committee proposed by Palestinian experts and an international “Peace Council”.
The composition of the committee was coordinated with Israel, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.
Questions also include the timing of the deployment of international forces and the reopening of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza, as well as concrete details of Hamas disarmament and the reconstruction of Gaza.
In an interview on the West Bank’s Basma Radio on Wednesday, Ali Shaath, the engineer and former Palestinian Authority official slated to head the committee, said he expected reconstruction and recovery to take about three years. He said he would start with immediate needs, such as shelter.
“If they bring bulldozers and push the rubble into the sea and make new islands (in the sea), new land, it’s a victory for Gaza and (we) get rid of the rubble,” said Shaath, a native of Gaza.
Progress announced, but difficulties remain
Palestinians in Gaza who spoke to The Associated Press questioned what the transition to phase two would actually change on the ground, highlighting the ongoing bloodshed and challenges to providing basic needs.
More than 450 people have been killed since Israel and Hamas agreed to end fighting in October, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday.
Nine people were killed in multiple strikes on Thursday, according to local hospitals. The first strike killed two men, while three women and a man were killed in the second strike, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Later, two people were killed and five were injured after a strike hit a house, according to Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat. In addition, one person was killed in Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said.
Israeli military officials did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the attacks.
Separately, the army said it killed someone on Thursday who approached troops near the so-called Yellow Line – which separates the Israeli-held Gaza Strip from the rest – and posed an imminent threat.
“We see on the ground that the war has not stopped, the bloodshed has not stopped and our suffering in the tents has not ended,” said Samed Abu Rawagh, a displaced man from Jabaliya in southern Gaza.
The casualties from the October ceasefire, which UNICEF said included more than 100 children, were among 71,441 Palestinians killed since Israel’s offensive began, according to the ministry, which did not say how many were combatants or civilians.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-led government and is made up of medical personnel. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures, but has not provided its own figures.
Hamza Abu Shahab, a man from eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said he was waiting for tangible changes, such as easier access to food, fuel and medical care, rather than promises.
“We were pleased with this news, but we ask God that it is not just empty words,” he told AP in Khan Younis. “We need this news to be real, because in the second phase we will be able to return to our homes and areas … God willing, it will not be just empty promises.”
Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people have struggled to keep the cold weather and storms at bay while facing a shortage of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly needed in the winter months.
This is the third winter since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023, when the militants stormed southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped another 251.
Challenges ahead
The second phase of the ceasefire will face thornier issues than the first, including the disarmament of Hamas and the transition to a new governing structure after nearly two decades of rule by the fractious group.
The UN has estimated that reconstruction will cost more than $50 billion. The process is expected to take years and little money has been committed so far.
Hamas said it would dissolve its existing government to make way for the committee announced as part of the second phase of the ceasefire. But he did not make clear what would happen to its military arm or the dozens of Hamas-affiliated civil servants and civilian police.
Bassem Naim, a member of the group’s political bureau, said Thursday that Hamas welcomed the committee’s announcement as a step toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, but did not elaborate on the issues at hand. He told X that “the ball is now in the court” of the United States and international mediators to allow it to work.
Israel has insisted that Hamas lay down its arms, while the groups’ leaders have rejected calls for surrender despite two years of war, saying Palestinians have the “right to resist”.
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Metz reported from Jerusalem. Josef Federman and Melanie Lidman contributed reporting from Jerusalem.