Israel identifies bodies of two hostages as Gaza border crossing remains closed

Israel identified the remains of two hostages on Sunday after Hamas handed over their bodies to the Red Cross on Saturday, as the Palestinian group said talks to launch the second phase of ceasefire negotiations had begun.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father-of-three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker killed at Kibbutz Be’eri.

Both were believed to have been killed during the October 7 attack and their bodies were taken to Gaza.

Mr Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.

Meanwhile, Israel threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed “until further notice”.

The statement by Mr Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfilled its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.

Hamas has handed over the remains of 13 identified hostages, 12 of which have been identified as hostages. Israel said one of the bodies released did not belong to a hostage.

The handover of remains is among key points — along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory’s future — in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

The Rafah crossing is the only one that was not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side.

A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s interior ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For Palestinians who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter the Gaza Strip will need to apply at the embassy in Cairo for relevant entry documents.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in the territory. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate of wartime deaths by UN agencies and many independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war.

Israel said on Sunday that Hamas militants shot at troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in the Israeli-controlled areas, according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the fragile ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Hamas said discussions were under way with mediators on arrangements for launching negotiations on the second phase of the Trump plan to end the war in Gaza.

Hazem Kassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement late on Saturday that the second phase negotiations “require national consensus”.

He said Hamas had begun discussions to solidify their positions on the issues but did not provide further details.

According to Mr Trump’s plan, the second phase of negotiations include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an international-backed authority to run the embattled Gaza Strip.

Mr Kassem reiterated that the group would not be part of the ruling authority in a post-war Gaza. Hamas-run government bodies in the Gaza Strip are running day-to-day affairs to avoid a power vacuum, he said.

“Government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.

Mr Kassem called for a prompt establishment of the Community Support Committee, a body of Palestinian technocrats, to run the day-to-day affairs.

Hamas rejected on Sunday a claim by the US state department that said it had credible reports of an imminent planned attack by the group against residents of Gaza.

“This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,” it said in a statement.

Hamas called the claim “false allegations”, and accused Israel of supporting armed groups operating in Israeli-controlled areas. Hamas urged the US administration to pressure Israel to stop supporting the gangs and “providing them a safe haven”.

Hamas-led fighters clashed with at least two armed groups in eastern Gaza City that Hamas alleges are involved in looting aid and collaborating with Israel. They executed a handful of suspects in public, in widely condemned street killings.

The interior ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, says its forces were working to restore law and order across areas Israel’s military withdrew from following the ceasefire.