However, Israel has said it is keeping the crossing closed until Hamas "fulfils" its commitments under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal by returning the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel has kept the Gaza side of the Egyptian border closed since May 2024 when it took control during the war.

President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader.

The United Nations’ top court issued a legal opinion Wednesday stating that Israel, as an occupying power, is obligated to work with UN agencies to facilitate humanitarian aid in Gaza, a rebuke of the blockade it imposed on the Palestinian enclave earlier this year.

Over the past eleven days, 195 bodies have been returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities, in exchange for the bodies of 13 Israeli hostages, under the terms of Donald Trump's ceasefire deal. Two other bodies – those of Nepalese and Thai hostages – have also been returned by Hamas.

The United Nations' top legal body, the International Court of Justice, on Wednesday gave an advisory opinion saying that Israel is under the obligation to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed cautious optimism on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s peace agreement that’s come under strain from bloodshed in Gaza and political intrigue in Jerusalem during a visit to a new led-US command center in southern Israel.

A collective funeral ceremony was held Wednesday in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, for 54 unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were returned from Israel, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) reported.

Israel launched a wave of attacks on Gaza after accusing Palestinian militants of attacking its forces across cease-fire lines. Both sides say they are still committed to the truce.

A total of 195 bodies were transported by the Red Cross to the hospital in southern Gaza since last week, when a ceasefire agreement to end the war between Israel and Hamas was put in place.