While the ceasefire continues in Gaza as planned, both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the terms of the peace deal brokered by United States President Donald Trump.
The peace deal required Hamas to release all remaining 48 living and deceased hostages by noon this past Monday, though the group has so far returned 20 living and 10 bodies to Israel.
It is believed that Hamas is releasing the deceased hostages in a phased manner to ensure that Israel does not retract from its position, as has happened on several occasions, most recently in March this year.
The Israeli military has said one of the bodies received is not that of a hostage. People in Israel are now accusing Hamas of breaching the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday demanded that Hamas return all remaining hostage bodies. He said, "We will not compromise on this."
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 23 people had been killed in attacks by the Israeli military after the ceasefire took effect.
They said that the death toll since the start of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2023 has crossed 67,967.
However, rebuking the claims, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of violating the deal after the IDF killed 24 people in shooting incidents since Friday last week.
He said that the group has handed over the recorded violations carried out by Israeli forces despite the ceasefire. The question now is whether the truce can be upheld to allow Israel and Hamas to move on to the next phase of the peace plan, which includes disarming the Islamic group and retreating Israeli forces from Gaza.
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