Overview
- Israel identified the remains returned Friday as those of Lior Rudaeff, leaving five hostage bodies still to be handed back under the ceasefire terms.
- Under the exchange formula of 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli hostage, Gaza’s Nasser Hospital reported receiving 15 bodies Saturday, with totals cited by officials ranging from about 285 to 300 returned by Israel.
- Since the Oct. 10 truce began, militants have returned 23 hostage remains, and Israel says the process continues despite disputed handovers that previously did not match missing hostages.
- UN officials report that more than 200,000 metric tons of aid are positioned to enter Gaza but only about 37,000 tons have been admitted, underscoring persistent humanitarian shortfalls.
- Washington’s draft for an international stabilization force in Gaza is under negotiation as Hamas rejects any such deployment acting as a substitute for Israeli troops and mediators press Israel to consider the surrender and exit of roughly 150–200 tunnel fighters.