US President Donald Trump has threatened Hamas with "fast, hard and brutal" force if it "doesn't do what's right" as he tries to implement the next, more complex phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which has already been tested several times.
Increasing pressure on the Palestinian militant group, Trump said in a social media post that numerous US allies had expressed a willingness to enter Gaza and strike Hamas, but that he, like Israel, had told them that "the time is not yet," Reuters reported.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of repeated violations of a ceasefire signed eight days ago, with sporadic clashes and mutual accusations over the pace of returning hostage bodies, delivering aid and opening borders.
Vance visits Israel
US Vice President J.D. Vance, who arrived on Tuesday, is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for talks that Israel says will focus on security challenges and political opportunities.
The talks are expected to focus on Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan, which calls for moving from the current, shaky ceasefire to significantly tougher steps, including the disarmament of Hamas and a path toward a Palestinian state.
The visit comes after Monday, when Netanyahu met with US envoys Stephen Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, while Hamas is meeting in parallel with mediators in Cairo.
Israel, according to a source familiar with the situation, is insisting on stronger guarantees that Hamas will be disarmed, which the group has so far refused to accept.
The Hamas talks in Cairo, led by the movement's exiled leader Khalil al-Haya, also cover the possibilities of the next phase of the ceasefire, post-war arrangements in Gaza and the stabilization of the current ceasefire, Reuters reports.
The head of Egypt's intelligence service, a key mediator in the Gaza talks, met with Netanyahu earlier Tuesday to discuss progress on the ceasefire plan and other issues, Israel said. Egyptian television reported that intelligence chief Hassan Mahmoud Rashad would also speak with Wittkoff later.
Underscoring the fragility of the truce, Qatar, another mediator, accused Israel on Tuesday of “continuous violations.” Qatar and Turkey, which is using its role as a mediator to strengthen its regional position, have been key channels of communication with Hamas.
The future role of Hamas?
Trump's plan envisages the formation of a technical Palestinian committee under the supervision of an international body, without Hamas participation in governance.
A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said Hamas supported the formation of such a committee that would govern Gaza without its representatives, but with the consent of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and other factions.
Last week, senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazal told Reuters that the movement expects to maintain a security role on the ground in Gaza during an indefinite transitional period.
Hamas has been waging war in Gaza for the past week with rival groups and publicly executing men it accuses of collaborating with Israel. Trump has authorized the executions, but the US military's Middle East command has called on Hamas to "immediately end the violence."
Vance is expected to visit the headquarters of the US-led joint force, which is supposed to help in efforts to stabilize Gaza.
Return of bodies and delivery of aid
Speaking to Egyptian television late Monday night, al-Haja reaffirmed that Hamas would respect the ceasefire and fulfill its commitments from the first phase, including returning the bodies of the hostages.
"Let their (hostages') bodies be returned to their families, and let the bodies of our martyrs be returned to their families to be buried with dignity," he said.
Hamas returned another hostage's body late Monday and announced it would hand over two more on Tuesday, bringing the total number of bodies in Gaza to 13. Israel believes Hamas can return several more bodies soon, but acknowledges that some will require a slower and more complex process of finding and recovering the remains.
Israel returned 15 more Palestinian bodies on Tuesday, local health officials said, bringing the total number of bodies returned from Gaza to 165.
In the enclave itself, according to Palestinian and United Nations officials, more humanitarian aid began arriving through two Israeli-controlled crossings on Tuesday.
However, given the catastrophic conditions in which Gazans live, humanitarian organizations argue that much more is needed.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said aid deliveries were increasing but were far short of its daily target of 2.000 tonnes, as only two border crossings were open. No convoys had yet reached the famine-stricken northern Gaza Strip.
Unstable ceasefire
Clashes in Gaza since the ceasefire began have mostly taken place along the so-called "yellow line," which marks the Israeli military's withdrawal. Israeli public radio Kan reported on Tuesday that soldiers shot dead a person who crossed the line and headed toward them.
Palestinians near the line, which runs through devastated areas near major cities, say it is not clearly marked and it is difficult to determine where the no-go zone begins. Israeli bulldozers began placing yellow concrete blocks along the route on Monday.
Gaza's health ministry said on Tuesday that at least seven Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire across the enclave over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since the start of the war to 68.229.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war, killed about 1.200 people, according to Israeli figures, and another 251 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.
Bonus video:
