Preparations begin to ramp up aid in Gaza as ceasefire brings hope for end to 2-year war

Preparations were underway Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war.

The Israeli defence body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering Gaza Strip is expected to ramp up on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement.

Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said the trucks include medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and fuel.

The trucks will head to the inspection area in the Kerem Shalom crossing for screening by Israeli troops. In recent months, the UN and its partners have been able to deliver only 20 per cent of the aid needed in Gaza because of the fighting, border closures and Israeli restrictions on what enters.

Expanding Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid have triggered a hunger crisis, including famine in parts of the territory.

The United Nations has said that it has about 1,70,000 metric tonnes of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid ready to enter Gaza once Israel gives the green light.

Gaza Humanitarian Fund future in question      

The fate of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and US-backed contractor that replaced the UN aid operation in Gaza in May as the primary food supplier in Gaza, remains unclear.

Food distribution sites operated by the group in the southernmost city of Rafah and central Gaza were dismantled following the ceasefire deal, several Palestinians said Sunday.

Hoda Goda, who used to go to the GHF sites in Rafah earlier this year, said people had dismantled the structures and taken wood and metal fences GHF workers used to control the crowds.

Another Palestinian, Ehab Abu Majed, said the site in eastern Khan Younis was also dismantled, and there was no food distribution in the past two days. Ahmed al-Masri, a man living in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, said a third site in the Netzarim corridor area was also dismantled.

GHF had been touted by Israel and the United States as an alternative system to prevent Hamas from taking over aid.

However, its operations were mired in chaos and hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while heading to its four sites. The Israeli military has said its troops fired warning shots to control crowds.

A GHF representative declined to comment Sunday.

Preparations for hostage, prisoner release, Trump visit  

Preparations were also underway Sunday for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

A message sent Saturday from Gal Hirsch, Israel's coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, told hostage families to prepare for the release of their loved ones starting Monday morning. One of the families of the hostages confirmed the note's authenticity.

Hirsch said preparations in hospitals and in Rei'im camp were complete to receive the live hostages, while the dead will be transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification.

An international task force will start working to locate deceased hostages who are not returned within the 72-hour period, said Hirsch. Officials have said the search for the bodies of the dead, some of whom may be buried under rubble, could take time.

Israeli officials believe about 20 of the hostages out of 48 held by Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are still alive. All of the living hostages are expected to be released Monday.

US President Donald Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is expected to arrive in Israel Monday morning. He will meet with families of hostages and speak at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, according to a schedule released by the White House.

Trump will then continue on to Egypt, where the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said he will co-chair a “peace summit” on Monday with attendance by regional and international leaders.

Timing has not yet been announced for the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel who are to be freed under the deal. They include 250 people serving life sentences in addition to 1,700 people seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.

Gaza residents return home

Palestinians continued to move back to areas vacated by Israeli forces Sunday, although many were returning to homes reduced to rubble.

Tents along the coast also could be seen near Gaza City's marina. Many people have been living along the sea to avoid being targeted in Israeli bombardment of the city.

Armed police were seen in Gaza City and southern Gaza patrolling the streets and securing aid trucks driving through areas from which the Israeli military had withdrawn, according to residents. The police force is part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

Two years of war have wrought devastation      

The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

In Israel's ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.

The war has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2 million residents. It has also triggered other conflicts in the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

While both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the initial halt to the fighting and plans to release the hostages and prisoners, the longer-term fate of the ceasefire remains murky. Key questions about governance of Gaza and the post-war fate of Hamas have yet to be resolved.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X that he had instructed the Israel military to prepare to begin destroying the network of tunnels built by Hamas under Gaza "through the international mechanism that will be established under the leadership and supervision of the US” once the hostages are released.