Planning has begun for an international force to go into Gaza to stabilize security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said.
One of the top requirements of President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza plan was formation of a US-backed stabilization force. The United States has agreed to provide up to 200 troops to support the force without being deployed in Gaza itself.
The two senior advisers, in a briefing for reporters, said tensions remain high between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the enclave.
"Right now what we're looking to accomplish is just a basic stabilization of the situation. The international stabilization force is starting to be constructed," one adviser said.
Among the countries the US is speaking to about contributing to the force are Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar and Azerbaijan, said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The advisers said there were up to two dozen US troops in the region to help set up the operation, serving in a "co-ordination, oversight" role.
"The goal is to use all the different local partners who want to help and be involved," the adviser said.
After Hamas killed seven men in Gaza City it accused of collaborating with Israel, the advisers said there were discussions to establish safe zones for civilians to prevent such incidents.
The second adviser said that no Gazans would be forced to leave the battered Palestinian enclave. Officials are looking at rebuilding in areas that are free of Hamas militants.
Mr Trump has said he would like to see the enclave rebuilt and has pledges of investment from various international partners, but that this effort will take time.
The advisers also said patience was needed for the recovery of dead Israeli hostages, saying it will take longer than expected because their remains are buried under rubble and unexploded ordnance.
They said there are discussions about offering rewards for information leading to the discovery of remains.
Israel threatens to resume fighting if Hamas does not respect Gaza truce deal
Israel's defence minister threatened to resume fighting if Hamas does not honour the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that halted the war in Gaza.
The statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz's office came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages and said it would be unable to retrieve any more bodies from the ruins of Gaza without specialised equipment.
Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian Islamist group has handed back 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.
Before the two bodies were handed over late on Wednesday, Hamas had already returned the remains of seven of 28 known deceased hostages - along with an eighth body which Israel said was not that of a former hostage.
"If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will resume fighting and act to achieve a total defeat of Hamas, to change the reality in Gaza and achieve all the objectives of the war," a statement from Katz's office said.
Hamas's armed wing said the two bodies returned would be the last for now - falling far short of the plan's demand to hand over all of them.
"The Resistance has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in its custody, as well as the corpses it could access," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on social media.
"As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file."
But senior US advisors said Wednesday, after Israel's threat to resume fighting, that Hamas still intends to make good on its pledge.
"We continue to hear from them that they intend to honour the deal. They want to see the deal completed in that regard," one advisor told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Still, any delay in returning the remaining bodies is likely to pile further domestic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tie humanitarian aid to the fate of the bodies.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has threatened to cut off desperately needed aid supplies to Gaza if Hamas fails to return the remains of soldiers still held in the Palestinian territory.
Humanitarian risk
Israel, meanwhile, transferred another 45 Palestinian bodies that had been in its custody to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, bringing the number returned to 90, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry said.
Under the Trump plan, Israel is to return 15 Palestinian dead for every deceased Israeli hostage.
With the deal underway, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged Israel to immediately open all crossings into Gaza for humanitarian aid.
"It should happen now. We want it to happen immediately as part of this agreement," Fletcher told AFP in an interview in Cairo on Wednesday, ahead of a planned trip to the Gaza border.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN had reported that the Rafah crossing point to Egypt would reopen, but this did not happen, and an Israeli spokesperson did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
Mr Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, is expected to head to the Rafah crossing today.
It is the only border point that connects Gaza to the world without passing through Israel.
"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," Mr Fletcher said.
Possible violations
Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, said Israeli fire killed three Palestinians yesterday, including two while trying to reach their homes in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The Israeli military said that "several suspects were identified crossing the yellow line and approaching" troops in the northern Gaza Strip, referencing the line to which Israeli forces have pulled back to under the ceasefire deal.
The military said this "violates the agreement" and that "troops removed the threat by striking the suspects."
The war sparked by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel led to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with the densely populated territory reliant on aid that was heavily restricted, when not cut off outright.
At the end of August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, though Israel rejected the claim. The return of aid is listed in Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza.
Another political challenge is Hamas's disarmament, a demand the militant group has refused to accept.
Hamas is tightening its grip on Gaza's ruined cities, but Israel and the United States insist the group can have no role in a future government for the territory.
