Israel kills 9 Palestinians despite Gaza truce

Oct 15, 2025 News

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(AL-JAZEERA) Israeli soldiers killed at least nine Palestinians trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza City and southern Khan Younis on Tuesday, in the first major violation since the US-brokered ceasefire began.

The Gaza Health Ministry also reported that 44 bodies were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours as well as 29 people who were wounded.

The ministry said the remains of 38 of those killed were retrieved from under rubble, adding that a number of victims still remained trapped, with ambulance and Civil Defence crews unable to reach them.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, at least 600 trucks carrying desperately needed aid should be entering war-battered Gaza each day.

However, Israel continues to block major crossing routes and restrict supplies.

“To my knowledge not all entry points are open to have humanitarian aid inside Gaza, and that’s the main issue right now,” said Christian Cardon, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson from Geneva.

“That’s what the ICRC has been calling for in the last few hours – is making sure because of the huge needs that all entry points can be opened.”

The Israeli military says it was informed by the Red Cross that four bodies of slain captives have been handed over to the rescue group and are making their way towards Israeli army positions in Gaza.

The remains of at least eight abductees have now been handed over in the past 24 hours.

Earlier, Israel said it is only allowing in 300 aid trucks per day into starving Gaza because Hamas is moving too slow in handing over the bodies of dead captives.

US President Donald Trump has said Hamas assured United States mediators it would disarm — and has warned that if it didn’t do so, the US would.

“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently,” Trump said at a White House press conference.

“I spoke to Hamas and I said, ‘You’re going to disarm, right?’ ‘Yes sir, we’re going to disarm,’ that’s what they told me. They will disarm or we will disarm them.”

Israel has demanded that Gaza be demilitarised and that Hamas hand over its weapons. The group’s leaders, however, have been ambivalent about the issue.

The US president has hailed the release of Israeli captives in Gaza and asserted the ceasefire deal is immediately moving to its next stage toward a permanent end to the war.

“All 20 hostages are back and feeling as good as can be expected. A big burden has been lifted, but the job is not done,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

“The dead have not been returned, as promised! Phase Two begins right now!!!”

Trump’s post comes as Israel announced it will only allow 300 aid trucks into Gaza each day, half of what it agreed to under the ceasefire. It said the move was made because of Hamas’s slow effort to hand over the bodies of dead captives.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa says ending the war in Gaza is a “fundamental step” towards restoring normal life after two years of immense suffering but warns that it marks only the start of a new phase.

“The cessation of war alone is not enough to end the tragedy,” Mustafa said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah.

“The real guarantee for peace and security as well as for preventing a recurrence of what has happened lies in empowering the Palestinian government to fully perform its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip as part of its national duty towards our people everywhere.

“The challenges are immense, and the responsibility is great.”

‘Wide-ranging, long-running task’ to put Gaza back together

The situation in Gaza remains desperate because of the level of destruction inflicted by Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure including hospitals, drinking water facilities, and sewage systems.

“While we are attempting to get in as many items as we can, and other international organisations are also doing this, it is a response that will take weeks rather than days to respond to the widespread damage,” said Sarah Davies, a spokesperson from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

While the cessation of hostilities is welcome, Davies noted “this doesn’t mean things change overnight in Gaza”.

“This is going to take weeks, months, if not years to get back to the standard of functioning that it was prior to two years ago. It really is a wide-ranging and long-running task ahead of us,” she told Al Jazeera.

Palestinians in Gaza have appealed for the international community to move quickly to restore some semblance of normality in the largely destroyed Strip.

Mohamad Abu Hajras, a displaced Palestinian from southern Khan Younis, said he’s hopeful the ceasefire agreement will swiftly lead to Gaza’s reconstruction.

“There is no infrastructure, electricity, water, or anything that is fit for life,” Abu Hajras said.

On Tuesday, the UN development agency said the latest joint estimate from the UN, the European Union, and the World Bank is that $70bn will be required to rebuild Gaza.

Jaco Cilliers, a special representative for the agency, said $20bn would be needed in the next three years, and the rest would be needed over a longer period – possibly decades.

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• ceasefire, Gaza, Israeli soldiers, Palestinians, truce

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