Bodies under the rubble threaten the completion of the second phase of the Gaza agreement.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

Hamas continues to search in more than one location in the Gaza Strip for the bodies of the last 3 Israeli hostages, out of 251 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7. The rescue operations face significant complications, especially with the limited heavy equipment used for digging, as well as the large amount of destruction left by the Israeli war on Gaza for more than two years. Political analyst Basem Abu Attaya said that "Israel is fully aware of the extent of the destruction and rubble it has left in the Gaza Strip, and knows that removing this rubble requires years, yet it obstructs the entry of the necessary heavy equipment, and deliberately prevents rescue teams from reaching some sites believed to contain the bodies of its soldiers." He added, "Israel insists on using the pretext of not finding the bodies of its missing soldiers," noting that "Israel will not allow the implementation of the second phase as long as a single body remains inside the Strip." The political analyst explained that the issue "has become used to exert political pressure to stop progress on the agreement." He added that "Israel is not content with preventing equipment and specialized teams, but also deliberately targets field elements suspected of participating in burial or transfer operations of the bodies." He said, "Israel is carrying out systematic assassinations of people believed to have information about the burial sites of the bodies, in an attempt to obliterate evidence and eliminate any real chance of revealing the truth." For his part, political analyst Shafiq Al-Talouli said that "Israel continues to fabricate pretexts and commit repeated violations of the Gaza agreement, with the aim of obstructing it and preventing the transition to its second phase." He added that "the second phase carries fundamental political dimensions, most notably ending the war, starting reconstruction, and restoring Palestinian geographical and political unity, which Israel categorically rejects and seeks to keep the agreement frozen at the current situation." He continued, "Israel seeks to keep the results of the war in place as an environment that repels life, with the aim of pushing Palestinians into forced migration, placing more obstacles in the way of the flow of aid, disrupting the removal of rubble, and obstructing reconstruction." He explained that "Israel is using the issue of the bodies of the missing soldiers as a pretext to keep the field situation as it is and continue to violate the agreement." Al-Talouli pointed out that Israel "continues to use the existence of Hamas and its weapons as a pretext; which gives it the justification not to abandon the facts it imposed during the war, and to try to push the agreement towards failure from the Palestinian side, so that it does not appear as if it is the one who aborted the agreement." He concluded by saying, "Unless serious pressure is exerted by Washington to force Israel to abide by the second phase, and Hamas removes the pretexts as quickly as possible, the procrastination will continue, and the suffering of the Palestinians will remain without any real prospect for a solution; which will greatly threaten the agreement."