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UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told AFP on Wednesday that Israel should immediately open crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid as part of a ceasefire agreement."We've been calling for unhindered access," Fletcher said in an interview in Cairo, adding that "it should happen now. We want it to happen immediately as part of this agreement", referring to the deal between Israel and Hamas.US President Donald Trump and regional leaders on Monday signed a declaration in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to cement the deal."But the test of this agreement is not the photos and the press conferences and the interviews. The test is that we have children fed, that we have anaesthetics in the hospitals for people getting treatment, that we have tents over people's heads," Fletcher said.The war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with the densely-populated territory reliant on aid that was heavily restricted by Israel, when not cut off outright.At the end of August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, though Israel rejected the declaration.The return of aid is listed in Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza.Fletcher called for all crossings to be opened, and said that in Sharm el-Sheikh, Trump and other world leaders "were unequivocal that we must be allowed to deliver aid at massive scale".On Thursday, Fletcher is to go to the lifeline Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to see preparations there.The crossing remained shut on Wednesday despite reports that it could reopen to aid convoys, as Israel insisted Hamas hand over the remains of the last deceased hostages it holds."I don't know at this stage whether the crossing will open for sure," Fletcher said, adding that teams were also "working to clear the road on the other side".Fletcher said what had aid had entered so far was "a fraction of what's needed", with just "tens of trucks on a good day rather than the hundreds of trucks" required."There's a sense of complete urgency to this," Fletcher said."We are determined to get in there, stop the starvation, rebuild the health sector, clear the rubble and start to give people hope of a better life."

Rafah border crossing due to openAid trucks start enteringIsrael identifying hostage remainsHamas continues crackdownAid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and freed all living hostages held by Hamas.However, Hamas returned more Israeli bodies overnight, and an Israeli security official said on Wednesday preparations were under way to open Rafah to Gazan citizens, while a second official said that 600 aid trucks would go in.Hamas returned four bodies confirmed as dead hostages on Monday and another four bodies late on Tuesday, though Israeli authorities said one of those bodies was not that of a hostage.The dispute over the return of bodies still has the potential to upset the ceasefire deal along with other major issues that are yet to be resolved.Later phases of the truce call for Hamas to disarm and cede power, which it has so far refused to do. It has launched a security crackdown, parading its power in Gaza through public executions and clashes with local clans.Longer-term elements of the ceasefire plan, including how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international force to take over there and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to emerge.Twenty-one bodies of hostages remain in Gaza, though some may be hard to find or recover because of destruction during the conflict. An international task force is meant to find them.The deal also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. The first group of 45 was handed over on Tuesday and the bodies were being identified, said Palestinian health authorities.The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor saying famine was present in the enclave and health authorities overwhelmed."Our situation is utterly tragic. We went back to our homes in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood and found there are no homes at all. There is no shelter. Nothing," said Moemen Hassanein in Gaza City, with tents and shanties behind him.Reuters video showed a first group of trucks moving from the Egyptian side of the border into the Rafah crossing at dawn on Wednesday, some tankers carrying fuel and others loaded with pallets of aid.However, it was not clear if that convoy would complete its crossing into Gaza as part of the 600 trucks that were due to enter the enclave on Wednesday - the full daily complement required under the ceasefire plan. Aid trucks entered Gaza through other crossings."Humanitarian aid continues to enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing and other crossings after Israeli security inspection," the Israeli security official said.Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that Wednesday's aid deliveries would include food, medical supplies, fuel, cooking gas and equipment to repair vital infrastructure.Rafah is due to be opened to Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza either entering or exiting the enclave. But those awaiting medical evacuation told Reuters they had not yet received notification to prepare for travel.The Palestinian Authority, which governs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is preparing to operate the Rafah crossing into Egypt, which it previously did with EU assistance. Israel closed the crossing in 2007 after Hamas took over the enclave, but later allowed some movement through it under an agreement with Egypt.Several other Palestinian factions present in Gaza have backed the days-long Hamas security crackdown as it battles local clans that had tried to take over areas of the territory during the conflict.The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, one of the groups backing the Hamas crackdown, described the clans being targeted as "hubs of crime".The ceasefire envisaged Hamas initially restoring order in Gaza and US President Donald Trump, who brokered the deal, endorsed Hamas' crackdown on rival gangs, while warning it would face airstrikes if it did not later disarm.Israeli forces inside Gaza have pulled back to what the truce deal calls a yellow line just outside the main cities. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said it would immediately enforce any violation of the line.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Congo River Alliance (M23 Movement) signed in Doha Tuesday an agreement to establish a ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, facilitated by Qatar, in line with the Doha Declaration of Principles signed on July 19, 2025.The mechanism will oversee the implementation of the permanent ceasefire, investigate and verify reported violations, and communicate with relevant parties to prevent a resumption of hostilities.Qatar, the US, and the African Union will participate in this mechanism as observers, enhancing transparency and supporting regional and international efforts aimed at ensuring the success of the peace process in the Great Lakes region.The establishment of the mechanism represents a pivotal step toward enhancing confidence-building and moving forward toward a comprehensive peace agreement between the two parties to the conflict.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced Qatar's gratitude and appreciation to the African Union, the US of America, and the Togolese Republic for their constructive contributions to supporting this process.Qatar has been hosting direct peace talks between Congo and the M23 movement. The agreement is a sign of progress in Qatar-mediated talks.The ceasefire monitoring agreement was a key step to complete before talks towards a comprehensive peace agreement could begin, a source said.The deal follows a ceasefire agreement that both parties inked in Doha in July aimed at leading to a permanent end to the fighting that has devastated the DRC's mineral-rich east.Qatar described the move as a "pivotal step toward enhancing confidence-building and moving forward toward a comprehensive peace agreement".

Israel pledged 600 trucks a day into Gaza after ceasefireCrossings into North Gaza still shut, aid groups sayIsrael delayed plans to reopen Rafah crossingSome aid groups say they cannot import goodsA major ramp-up of aid needed to ease famine and suffering in Gaza after two years of war has yet to happen, the Red Cross and UN agencies said on Tuesday, as Israeli authorities warned of slower aid flows as the southern Rafah crossing remained shut.Three Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid into the shattered Gaza Strip and delay plans to open the border crossing to Egypt at least through Wednesday, because Hamas had been too slow to turn over bodies of dead hostages.Hamas has said locating the bodies is difficult, as not all burial sites amid the widespread rubble of Gaza are known."We need all crossings open. The longer Rafah stays closed the more the suffering prolongs for people in Gaza, especially those displaced in the South," Unicef spokesperson Ricardo Pires said.US President Donald Trump declared an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict on Monday as the last living Israeli hostages were swapped for Palestinian detainees, raising expectations that aid supplies would be rushed into the enclave where a global hunger monitor has warned hundreds of thousands of people face famine.COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, said on Friday that it expected about 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily during the ceasefire. It did not respond to a request for further comment on Tuesday. All of the aid so far has been through the south and central crossing of Kissufim, UN agencies said, with those at the epicentre of the humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, to where tens of thousands of people are returning, still shut."The shift has not yet happened. We are still witnessing only few trucks coming in, and large crowds approaching these trucks in a way that does absolutely not conform to humanitarian standards," ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said only some 350 humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza in the last few days.The UN World Food Programme said on Tuesday that it has brought in 137 trucks since the weekend, noting it also has not yet seen a ramp-up in aid. None of its aid entered Gaza on Monday because of the hostage-prisoner exchange, it added.Aid agencies are seeking to rapidly scale up supplies to people in Gaza City, where up to 400,000 people have not received assistance for several weeks, according to the WFP.Unicef spokesperson Tess Ingram said it has been able to bring in dozens of trucks with lifesaving supplies, such as family tents, plastic tarpaulin sheets, winter clothes and hygiene kits."Hopefully scale-up can be seen in earnest later this week," she added.Around 50 international aid groups, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE and Oxfam, have still not received clearance for supplies to enter as they face ongoing registration barriers."We're in this limbo ... The needs of a population that has experienced famine over a period of months is not going to be met with a few trucks," Bushra Khalidi, an Oxfam policy adviser said.COGAT previously said that aid trucks operated by the UN and "approved international organizations", the private sector, and donor countries would be allowed to enter Gaza.Catholic Relief Services has, however, received permission to bring in supplies with shelter as a priority, Jason Knapp, an official with Catholic Relief Services, told Reuters from Gaza.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that the remains of four deceased hostages returned by Hamas have been identified, including those of a Nepalese student.Separately, a Gaza hospital said it has received the bodies of 45 Palestinians that had been handed back by Israel, also as part of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war.In a statement, the Israeli military named two of the victims as Guy Iluz, an Israeli national, and Bipin Joshi, an agriculture student from Nepal.The names of the other two hostages have not yet been released at the request of their families, the statement added.Iluz, who was 26 at the time of the attack, had been attending the Nova music festival when assault happened on October 7, 2023.Joshi, who was 22 at the time of the attack, was part of a Nepalese agricultural training group that had arrived in Israel three weeks before the Hamas assault.He was abducted from Kibbutz Alumim.Hamas returned the four bodies on Monday, following the release of all 20 surviving captives as part of the ceasefire deal brokered by Trump.Meanwhile, the bodies of 45 Palestinians that had been in Israeli custody were handed over to the Nasser Medical Centre in Gaza, the hospital said.Under the Trump deal, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.Palestinian fighters are still holding the bodies of 24 hostages, which are expected to be returned under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Congo River Alliance (M23 Movement) signed in Doha on Tuesday an agreement to establish a ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, facilitated by the State of Qatar, in line with the Doha Declaration of Principles signed on July 19, 2025. The mechanism will oversee the implementation of the permanent ceasefire, investigate and verify reported violations, and communicate with relevant parties to prevent a resumption of hostilities. The State of Qatar, the United States of America, and the African Union will participate in this mechanism as observers, enhancing transparency and supporting regional and international efforts aimed at ensuring the success of the peace process in the Great Lakes region. The establishment of the mechanism represents a pivotal step toward enhancing confidence-building and moving forward toward a comprehensive peace agreement between the two parties to the conflict. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced the State of Qatar's gratitude and appreciation to the African Union, the United States of America, and the Togolese Republic for their constructive contributions to supporting this process.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres praised the State of Qatar for its pivotal diplomatic role in facilitating the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and supporting efforts to sustain calm, stressing that Qatari mediation efforts were instrumental in achieving this progress.In an official statement, he welcomed the continued implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza, based on the proposal presented by US President Donald Trump regarding the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian detainees. He also commended the United States, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Turkiye for their persistent mediation efforts, and acknowledged the indispensable role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in ensuring that all releases take place safely and humanely.The Secretary-General noted that the United Nations and its partners are rapidly scaling up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip, with UN agencies reaching areas that had been cut off for months to deliver life-saving assistance.He underlined that these efforts mark an essential step toward stabilizing conditions and restoring basic human dignity, while emphasizing that humanitarian needs remain vast and that sustained access and adequate funding are critical.

Three Palestinians were martyred by Israeli forces east of Gaza City on Tuesday, despite the ceasefire agreement being in effect for the fifth consecutive day.A medical source said that three people were martyred when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City.Medical sources in the Gaza Strip announced that the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 67,869 Palestinians and 170,105 injured, since October 7, 2023.Thousands of victims remain under the rubble or in the streets, as ambulance and civil defense crews face difficulties in reaching them at this time due to the massive destruction.

US President Donald Trump affirmed Monday that the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Agreement has ended the war in the Gaza Strip, and that this heralds the beginning of a strong Middle East living in peace.He extended thanks to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and to the Arab and Muslim nations that assisted in reaching the deal.Speaking at the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, President Trump thanked Arab and Muslim states for making the breakthrough possible. He offered particular thanks for His Highness the Amir, describing him as "an exceptional man who is greatly respected." Trump declared that the nations had collectively achieved peace in the Middle East, something widely considered impossible. He called the signed document "historic" and "the greatest deal ever," confirming that the fighting in Gaza was finished and that aid deliveries had started. He promised to lead the Middle East toward a better future.The US President assured the attendees that a Third World War would be avoided in the Middle East.While acknowledging the difficulty of the initial steps toward peace, he stated that the momentum was now moving toward achieving lasting peace in the region and that this was a unique opportunity. He urged all parties to maintain the collaborative spirit to ensure the continuation of this historic success.Trump reiterated the historical significance of the achievement, calling for a demilitarised Gaza and a safe Middle East. He also confirmed an agreement on the necessity of supporting the reconstruction of Gaza.Acknowledging the challenges ahead, the president suggested that the rebuilding of Gaza might be the most difficult phase. He noted that wealthy nations had already informed him of their willingness to assist in the reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, he mentioned that many wish to join the "Peace Council on Gaza," which may require expansion.Finally, President Trump extended his condolences to Qatar for the recent tragic incident in Sharm el- Sheikh that resulted in the deaths of several Amiri Diwan employees.His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani arrived earlier Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to head Qatar's delegation participating in the summit for peace.His Highness the Amir was welcomed upon arrival at Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport by Egyptian Minister of Culture Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hano, and Qatar's Ambassador to Egypt Tariq bin Ali al-Ansari.His Highness is accompanied by HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani and an official delegation.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that peace is happening now in the Middle East, which is going through a very remarkable period right now."We will see a lot of progress in the Middle East", Trump said during a joint meeting with his Egyptian counterpart ahead of the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit, explaining that Gaza needs the efforts of all to remove the rubble.He also noted that the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit is witnessing important representation in this regard, praising Egypt's role in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.For his part, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi commended the efforts of his US counterpart in stopping the war in Gaza, describing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a tremendous achievement.US President is the only one capable of ending the war and achieving peace in our region, El-Sisi added, before pointing out that Egypt is working to stabilize the ceasefire as quickly as possible and urgently deliver humanitarian aid.He also said that coordination with the United States continues, expressing his country's readiness to take all necessary measures to ensure the goals of peace and stability in the Middle East are achieved.

The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed a declaration on Monday as the guarantors of a Gaza deal aimed at ending two years of war."The document is going to spell out rules and regulations and lots of other things," Trump said before signing, repeating twice that "it's going to hold up".

With huge crowds waiting to welcome them home, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Monday under a Gaza ceasefire deal were overwhelmed with joy as they returned to their loved ones.Some threw peace signs while others struggled to walk without assistance as they got off the bus and were met by a crowd cheering their return from Israel's jails to the West Bank city of Ramallah."It's an indescribable feeling, a new birth," Mahdi Ramadan, newly released, told AFP, flanked by his parents with whom he said he would spend his first evening out of jail.Nearby, relatives exchanged hugs, young men in tears pressed their foreheads against each other -- some even fainting from the emotion of seeing loved ones again after years, and sometimes decades, in jail.The crowd chanted in celebration "Allahu akbar", meaning God is the greatest.Among the Palestinians to be released under a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal, 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, as well as about 1,700 Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.Israel agreed to free them in exchange for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, under the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war that was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.Nour Soufan, now 27 years old, was due to meet his father Moussa, who was jailed a few months after his birth, outside of jail for the first time.Soufan and half a dozen relatives came to Ramallah from Nablus, in the north of the West Bank, and spent the night in their vehicle."I have never seen my father, and this is the first time I will see him. This is a very beautiful moment," Soufan said.Like him, many had defied the travel restrictions that puncture daily life in the Palestinian territory, with Israeli army checkpoints proliferating in two years of war.Palestinian media reported on Sunday that families of detainees had been contacted by Israeli authorities, asking them not to organise mass celebrations."No reception is allowed, no celebration is allowed, no gatherings," said Alaa Bani Odeh, who came from the northern town of Tammun to find his 20-year-old son who had been jailed for four years.AFP spoke to several prisoners who said that in their first hours of freedom, they would go home and stay with family.During previous releases, mass gatherings had flooded entire streets in Ramallah, with people waving Palestinian flags as well as those of political factions including Hamas.Dressed in the grey tracksuits of Israeli prisons, many prisoners also wore a black-and-white kuffiyeh around their necks -- the traditional scarf that has become synonymous with the Palestinian cause.Some of the newly released prisoners happily let themselves be carried away on relatives' shoulders."Prisoners live on hope... Coming home, to our land, is worth all the gold in the world," said one freed detainee, Samer al-Halabiyeh."God willing, peace will prevail, and the war on Gaza will stop," Halabiyeh added."Now I just want to live my life."Journalists rushed to talk to the prisoners, but many declined to engage, sometimes explaining that before their release, they were advised not to speak.In the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis, a crowd gathered near Nasser Hospital, in the hope of catching sight of the prisoners taken during the war with Israel.In the afternoon, thousands cheered to welcome their loved ones as they caught glimpse of the buses carrying them home.