(BBC News) The leaders of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar have joined US President Donald Trump in signing a commitment to implement his plan to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It came at the end of a day that saw Hamas hand over all 20 living hostages it was holding in Gaza in exchange for the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails.
Hamas also handed over the bodies of four deceased hostages. Israel says the remains of 24 others remain in Gaza and must be returned without delay under the ceasefire agreement.
The first phase of Trump’s plan saw the ceasefire come into effect at 12:00 (09:00 GMT) on October 10 and increased amounts of humanitarian aid enter the Strip.
Israeli troops pulled back to a line that has left them in control of 53% of Gaza – the first of three stages of Israeli withdrawal, according to the Trump plan.
Two elements in the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan remain incomplete – the entry of aid into Gaza without restrictions, including the reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and the handover of all deceased hostages.
“We demand that Hamas uphold its part of the agreement,” an Israeli official said, adding the Israeli military “will not rest until all return to their families and to burial in Israel.”
A copy of the ceasefire agreement published by Israeli media last week appeared to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions might not be able to locate all of the bodies within that time frame.
An Israeli official meanwhile said an international task force would start work to locate the remains of anyone who was not returned.
Once agreement is reached on the completion of phase one, negotiations over the second phase will begin.
The 20-point plan says that if it is agreed by both sides, the war would “immediately end”.
A multinational force of around 200 troops overseen by the US military will monitor the ceasefire, according to a senior American official, who added no US forces will be on the ground in Gaza.
It also says Gaza will be initially governed by a temporary transitional committee of Palestinian technocrats – supervised by a “Board of Peace” headed and chaired by Trump.
Governance of the Strip would eventually be handed over to the Palestinian Authority – which administers the West Bank – once it has undergone reforms.
According to the plan, Hamas – which seized control of Gaza in 2007 by ousting its rivals, a year after winning legislative elections – would play no future role in its governance, directly or indirectly.
The plan says Gaza will be demilitarised and all “military, terror and offensive infrastructure” will be destroyed.
There are likely to be multiple points of contention during the negotiations over later phases of the deal.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgqx7ygq41o
