[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

Israel retrieves last hostage body from Gaza in boost for Trump plan

Israel has retrieved the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, the military said on Monday, fulfilling a key condition of the initial phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war. The remains of police officer Ran Gvili have been identified and will be returned for b

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Israel retrieves last hostage body from Gaza in boost for Trump plan

REUTERS
Published :
Jan 26, 2026 23:08
Updated :
Jan 26, 2026 23:08
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A sign depicting Ran Gvili, the last hostage remaining in Gaza following the deadly Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, says in Hebrew "Rani, hero of Israel, we're waiting for you at home", on the outside of the family home in Meitar, Israel Dec 7, 2025. According to his mother, Ran Gvili, who served in an elite Israeli police unit, was injured fighting during the attack and later confirmed dead. Photo : REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israel has retrieved the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, the military said on Monday, fulfilling a key condition of the initial phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war.

The remains of police officer Ran Gvili have been identified and will be returned for burial, the military said in a statement.

Gvili's remains had been held in Gaza since he was killed during Hamas' attack on Oct 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group led an attack on southern Israeli communities, triggering a two-year Israeli offensive.

Israel has said it will reopen Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the enclave's main gateway to the world, once the search operation for Gvili's remains was completed.

A government spokesperson had no immediate comment when asked when the border crossing would be reopened.

The Palestinian committee of technocrats backed by the US to administer Gaza has said the border would open this week.

NEXT PHASE OF DEAL

Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in October that was meant to see a complete halt in fighting as well as the return of all living and deceased hostages in exchange for the release of some Palestinians held in Israeli detention.

Gvili was one of the 251 hostages seized and taken to Gaza by militants during the Oct 7, 2023 attack. At the time of the deal, 48 hostages remained in Gaza, 28 of them believed dead, including Gvili.

Even before Gvili's body had been found, the Trump administration announced that the deal would move on to its next phase, which is meant to include reconstruction of Gaza and demilitarisation of the territory.

In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the discovery of Gvili's remains confirms Hamas' commitment to the US plan to end the war.

"We will continue to uphold all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the national Gaza administration and ensuring its success," Qassem said, referring to the committee of technocrats.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza, health ministry says

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed at least 12 people, the Palestinian health ministry said, with children reported to be among the fatalities in the latest violence rattling a tenuous ceasefire. One airstrike hit an apartment in Gaza City killing three children and two women, according to a family

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza, health ministry says

REUTERS
Published :
Jan 31, 2026 16:43
Updated :
Jan 31, 2026 16:43

A Palestinian inspects the site of an Israeli strike on Saturday, in Gaza City, January 31, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed at least 12 people, the Palestinian health ministry said, with children reported to be among the fatalities in the latest violence rattling a tenuous ceasefire.

One airstrike hit an apartment in Gaza City killing three children and two women, according to a family member and the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. Another airstrike hit a tent in Khan Younis, further south, according to WAFA.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report and did not immediately say whether it had carried out airstrikes in the enclave.

Video showed charred, blackened and destroyed walls at an apartment in a multi-storey building, and debris scattered inside it and outside on the Gaza City street.

"We found my three little nieces in the street, they say ceasefire and all, what did those children do, what did we do?" said Samer al-Atbash, a relative.

Israeli fire has killed more than 500 people, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, since a US-brokered truce between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel took effect in October after two years of war.

Palestinian militants have killed four Israeli soldiers since the truce, according to Israeli authorities.

On Friday, the Israeli military said that its forces identified eight gunmen emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Three of them were killed and a fourth, whom it described as a key Hamas commander in the area, was arrested.

The two sides have traded blame over truce violations, even as Washington presses them to proceed to the next phases of the ceasefire deal meant to end the war for good.

The next phase of US President Donald Trump's plan includes complex issues such as Hamas disarmament, which the group has long rejected, further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.

Gaza's main gateway, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt that has been largely shut during the war, is expected to reopen on Sunday.​

 

[Saif]

Israel to partially reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing

A source at the border told AFP that Sunday would be largely devoted to preparations and logistical arrangements.

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Israel to partially reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing

AFP Rafah, Palestinian Territories
Published: 01 Feb 2026, 12: 48

An empty truck waits on the Gaza border with Egypt at Rafah for the aid trucks to cross from northern Egypt on 21 October, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing humanitarian aid to Rafah for days, but so far none has been delivered to Gaza which has been under intense Israeli bombardment for almost two weeks since the deadly 7 October attacks. AFP

Israel is set to partially reopen the Rafah crossing between the war-devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, following months of urging from humanitarian organisations, though access will be limited to the movement of people.

The reopening comes amid ongoing violence in the Palestinian territory, with Gaza’s civil defence agency reporting dozens killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, while the Israeli military said it was retaliating against ceasefire violations.

The Rafah crossing is a vital gateway for both civilians and aid, but has remained closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.


Israel had previously said it would not reopen the crossing until the remains of Ran Gvili—the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza—were returned.

His remains were recovered days ago and he was laid to rest in Israel on Wednesday.

“The Rafah Crossing will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only,” COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Friday.

Entry and exit “will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission”, it added.

However, key details remain unclear, including how many people will be allowed to cross and whether those seeking to return to Gaza will be permitted entry.

A source at the border told AFP that Sunday would be largely devoted to preparations and logistical arrangements.

The crossing is set to open on Sunday on a trial basis to allow the passage of wounded individuals, ahead of a regular reopening scheduled for Monday, three sources at the crossing said.

However, no agreement has yet been reached on the number of Palestinians permitted to enter or exit, the sources added, noting that Egypt plans to admit “all Palestinians whom Israel authorises to leave” the territory.

“Every day that passes drains my life and worsens my condition,” said Mohammed Shamiya, 33, who suffers from kidney disease and requires dialysis treatment abroad.

“I’m waiting every moment for the opening of the Rafah land crossing.”

Anxious wait

Safa al-Hawajri, who has received a scholarship to study overseas, is also eagerly awaiting the reopening on Sunday.

“I’m waiting in the hope of fulfilling my ambition, which is tied to the reopening of the crossing,” said Hawajri, 18.

“I hope to be able to travel as soon as it opens.”

Located on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, Rafah is the only crossing into and out of the territory that does not pass through Israel.

The crossing lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind the so-called “Yellow Line” under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October.

Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.

The ceasefire has now entered its second phase and calls for reopening the crossing following the release or return of all Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants.

Hamas had called for its full reopening in both directions after the remains of Gvili were brought back to Israel.

The reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established to oversee the day-to-day governance of the territory’s 2.2 million residents.

The committee is to operate under the supervision of the so-called “Board of Peace” chaired by US President Donald Trump.

The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the Rafah crossing reopens.

Violence continued ahead of the crossing’s reopening.

At least 32 people, including children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, reported the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under the Hamas authority.

Israel’s military said the strikes were retaliation for an incident on Friday in which eight Palestinian fighters exited a tunnel in the city of Rafah, which it said violated the ceasefire.​

 

[Saif]

Israel says partially reopened Gaza's Rafah crossing

Israel partially reopened the Rafah crossing between the devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, following months of appeals from aid groups, though access is limited to pedestrians.

en.prothomalo.com

Israel says partially reopened Gaza's Rafah crossing

AFP Rafah
Published: 02 Feb 2026, 09: 42

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrive in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, after passing through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, on 1 February, 2026. AFP

Israel partially reopened the Rafah crossing between the devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, following months of appeals from aid groups, though access is limited to pedestrians.

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body coordinating Palestinian civilian affairs, made no mention of allowing in a long hoped-for surge of aid, and clarified that the passage of individuals through the gateway in both directions was expected to begin today, Monday.

Rafah is considered a key entry point for supplies into the devastated Palestinian territory, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war in spite of a ceasefire in place since 10 October.

The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.


COGAT said on Sunday that the "Rafah Crossing was opened today for the limited passage of residents only", but later added that the "movement of residents in both directions, entry and exit to and from Gaza, is expected to begin tomorrow".

An official at Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, said that about 200 patients were waiting to be permitted to leave the territory once the crossing opened.

AFP footage showed a queue of ambulances entering the crossing from the Egyptian side, though sources said none had been allowed into Gaza yet.

"The opening of Rafah opens a small door of hope for patients, students and people in Gaza," Amin Al-Hilu, 53, who lives in a tent in the territory's Al-Shati camp, told AFP.

"We need the crossing to fully open for travel and bringing in goods without Israeli restrictions, and this I think will require major pressure on Israel."

No displacement of Gazans

A Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity that a group of "around 40 Palestinians affiliated with the Palestinian Authority has arrived on the Egyptian side of the crossing" and was also waiting to be allowed in.

Egypt's state-linked Cairo News reported that the Egyptian side of the crossing would remain open "round the clock" and that Egyptian hospitals were prepared to receive patients coming from Gaza.

The leaders of Egypt and Jordan meanwhile renewed their rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II "renewed their affirmation of Egypt and Jordan's firm stance rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land", according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

The two also called for "unrestricted humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip".

Israel had previously said it would not reopen the crossing until the body of Ran Gvili -- the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza -- was returned.

His remains were recovered days ago and he was laid to rest in Israel on Wednesday, with COGAT announcing the reopening two days later.

COGAT described Sunday's reopening as "an initial pilot phase", coordinated with the European Union, adding the parties were carrying out "preliminary preparations aimed at increasing readiness for full operation of the crossing".

Adam Awad, 19, was among those waiting to travel through the Rafah crossing, hoping to join a civil engineering programme at a university in Turkey.

"My generation and I deserve a chance at life and to build a future," he said. "We are still living in fear and anxiety, without shelter, water or electricity."

Deadly violence

Located on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, Rafah is the only crossing into and out of the territory that does not pass through Israel.

It lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind the so-called "Yellow Line" under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire.

Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.

"We call on the mediators and guarantor states of the (ceasefire) agreement to monitor the occupation's behaviour at the Rafah crossing to prevent Gaza from facing a new Israeli siege," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

The reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established under the ceasefire agreement to oversee the territory's day-to-day governance.

However, the NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, was not expected to enter on Sunday, a member of the committee said.

Deadly violence preceded the reopening of Rafah crossing, with the civil defence agency in Gaza reporting at least 32 people killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday.

The military said it struck in retaliation for ceasefire violations when eight militants emerged out of tunnel in Rafah on Friday.​