Netanyahu and Kushner meet as Gaza ceasefire’s first phase winds down

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next stages of the fragile Gaza ceasefire, while Israel returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians.

The remains of four hostages are still in Gaza after Palestinian militants released the remains of another on Sunday.

The first stage of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10 is nearing its end. The next stage calls for the implementation of a governing body for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. It is not clear where either stands.

Israel ended the previous ceasefire agreement earlier this year after a period of exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners. At the time, mediators were unable to bring Hamas and Israel to the table to negotiate a troop withdrawal and a plan for the future governance of Gaza.

Also on Monday, the Israeli military released the results of a review into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that started the war, saying it had found shortcomings in a series of previous investigations.

The latest exchange of bodies

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians — an exchange central to the ceasefire’s first phase. The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of remains received is now 315.

Only 91 have been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The ministry posts photos of the remains online in the hope that families will recognize them.

One mother waited at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, wondering whether her missing 15-year-old son was among the new remains returned. He disappeared while on the way to school on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Rayyan has been missing for two years. I don’t know his fate, whether he’s still alive or dead,” said Shaima Abu Ouda, adding that he vanished near the wall separating Gaza and southern Israel. Her husband and eldest son were killed during the war.

On Sunday, Israel confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country. The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year’s war between Israel and Hamas.

His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza predating the current war between Israel and Hamas. A funeral was scheduled for Tuesday.

Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and 251 people were kidnapped.

On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to 69,176. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

US officials try to push ceasefire forward

Netanyahu and Kushner discussed the progress and future of the ceasefire, said Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian.

The deal has focused on the first phase of halting the fighting, releasing all hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase haven’t been worked out.

Kushner also was helping to lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin’s remains, according to someone close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks.

Bedrosian did not say where those negotiations were headed.

Hamas has made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone of territory controlled by Israeli forces, though it has acknowledged that clashes were taking place there.

Israeli military reviews its failures on Oct. 7, 2023

The conclusions released Monday by the Israeli military appeared to largely echo those of past investigations, citing both intelligence and operational failures.

It said that intelligence officials had failed to recognize Hamas’ growing capabilities or preparations for the attack, even in the early hours of Oct. 7. It also criticized the performance of ground troops, the navy and the air force.

“The committee of experts determined that the surprise of October 7th did not emerge from a vacuum or a lack of information — quite the opposite,” it said. “On the night of October 7th, direct intelligence had accumulated which, had it been professionally analyzed, could and should have led to an alert and a significant operational response.”

The report focused only on the army’s performance. Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official commission of inquiry that would look into governmental decision making, saying such an investigation can only take place when the war ends. Critics accuse him of stonewalling to prevent what is likely to be an unflattering report.

West Bank village faces demolition

Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Umm al-Khair, which was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” were bracing Monday for the arrival of Israeli military bulldozers.

The documentary chronicles villagers’ attempts to survive state-backed demolitions and rampant violence from Israeli settlers.

Residents say Israel has ordered the demolition of 14 structures, including the community center, greenhouse and family homes. A press release from the community said the demolitions could begin Tuesday.

Israel says the structures were built illegally. Residents, determined to stay on their land, say it is impossible to secure permits to build in the West Bank, leaving them little choice but to rebuild their homes following demolitions.

The village was founded in the 1950s by traditionally nomadic people, known as Bedouin, who settled there after being uprooted from the Negev desert during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Two decades later, Umm al-Khair fell under Israeli security control when Israel captured the West Bank.

Settler attacks, residents say, began in the 1980s, after Israel built the settlement of Carmel close to Umm al-Khair.

Earlier this year, an internationally sanctioned Israeli settler shot and killed a community leader, Awdah Hathaleen, as he was standing inside the community center slated for demolition.

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