After the release of the last living hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza was holding Tuesday while questions remain over other key parts of a U.S. plan for the region.
The long list of uncertainties includes when Hamas will return to Israel the bodies of the 24 hostages believed to be dead in Gaza, and Israel’s insistence that a weakened Hamas disarm. The future governance of Gaza is unclear.
Israeli military said troops in the northern Gaza Strip had “opened fire to remove the threat” of several people approaching them on Tuesday across the “yellow line” and not complying with orders to stop. It didn’t immediately comment on any casualties in the incident. Part of the ceasefire agreement is that Israel would pull back in Gaza to the line where it was in August, before its latest offensive.
Here’s the latest:
Released Palestinians describe harsh conditions in Israeli prisons
The release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees offers a rare glimpse into the immediate health impacts of incarceration in Israel.
Some of the those released on Monday are suffering from a range of health problems they developed during years in Israeli detention, doctors and freed prisoners in the occupied West Bank told The Associated Press.
“I was beaten on the shoulder, causing it to tear. For eight months, I wasn’t given even a pill for the pain,” said Kamal Abu Shanab, 51, who was released after more than 18 years behind bars. A military court in 2007 convicted him of “military training, voluntary manslaughter and membership in an unrecognized organization,” according to Israel’s list of exchanged prisoners.
The Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah received 14 men released on Monday as part of the exchange and discharged all but two. Doctors examining the men said their conditions suggested they had been beaten.
“It indicates that these patients were subjected to severe beatings, reflecting the extent of the violence they endured,” said Imed al-Shami, a resident doctor at the hospital’s emergency room.
The AP could not independently verify the claims. Israel’s Prison Service did not respond to questions about the allegations.
Israel says it adheres to its prison standards under law and investigates any reports of violations. But such allegations are consistent with findings previously documented by media organizations and human rights groups.
Amount of rubble in Gaza is equivalent to 13 giant pyramids, UN says
The U.N. development agency says the amount of rubble in Gaza would stack 12 meters (about 40 feet) high in all of New York’s Central Park or be enough to build 13 giant pyramids in Giza in Egypt.
Jaco Cillers, special representative of UNDP administrator for a program to help Palestinians, says the latest joint estimate from the U.N., the European Union and the World Bank is that $70 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza. That figure was tallied in September, and up from $53 billion estimated in February.
“The estimated damage and rubble, throughout the whole of Gaza is in the region of 55 million tons,” he said. “Another way to put it, apart from the example from Central Park that I mentioned, is (that it’s) also equal to 13 pyramids in Giza.”
“That is the amount and size of the challenge,” Cillers told a U.N. press briefing in Geneva by video from Jerusalem.
He said $20 billion would be needed in the next three years, and the rest would be needed over a longer period – possibly decades.
Cillers pointed to “good indications” from potential donors such as those in the Arab world, Europe and the United States, without specifying.
Erdogan says the deal signed in Egypt is not a peace agreement
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that an agreement signed in Egypt is not a peace deal but rather a framework for a ceasefire and said the United States and other nations must exert pressure on Israel to ensure its compliance.
Speaking to journalists on his return from the ceremony in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh late on Monday, the Turkish leader insisted that the only viable solution is a two-state solution recognizing Palestinian statehood.
“Turkey is determined to continue working toward this goal,” he said, according to a transcript of his comments were made available on Tuesday.
Erdogan said United States and others should ensure that Israel complies with agreement, citing what he said was the country’s alleged poor track record on honoring ceasefires.
Erdogan would not say whether Turkish troops would be deployed to Gaza, saying discussions about the structure and role of a task force for the region were still continuing. He said, however, that his government was focused on reconstruction and providing humanitarian support, including the possibility of sending container homes to Gaza.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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