The vote was a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza’s future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Middle East Peace
The remains of four hostages are still in Gaza after Palestinian militants released the remains of another on Sunday.
With Monday’s return, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed back since the start of the ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza.
Had President Donald Trump not been re-elected, terrorist entities would try to “wipe out” the State of Israel, Sen. Rick Scott told a packed crowd in Las Vegas.
Militants had previously returned the remains of 15 hostages since the start of the ceasefire, with 13 more still to be recovered.
Israel’s military issued sweeping evacuation orders covering Rafah and nearby areas, indicating it could soon launch another major ground operation in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city.
Israeli strikes Sunday morning killed at least 16 people, according to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, as Palestinians in Gaza marked the usually festive Eid al-Fitr.
The attacks followed a night of airstrikes early Friday that appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15.
Israel’s military struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire with the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah started in November.
Israel has vowed to escalate the offensive if Hamas does not release hostages, disarm and leave the territory.
Protesters leveled unusually direct and public criticism of Hamas, which has quashed dissent violently in the past in Gaza.
Israel’s parliament passed a state budget amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the hostage crisis. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government is more likely to survive to the end of its term.
Israel’s defense minister says it is trying to avoid harming civilians as it strikes Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s military struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, killing one person, wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the U.S., is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel struck Lebanon in retaliation for rockets targeting Israel, killing six people, in the heaviest exchange of fire since its ceasefire with Hezbollah almost four months ago.
Hamas fired three rockets at Israel on Thursday, in the first such attack since Israel broke their ceasefire.
The Islamic Republic has long armed the Houthis, who are members of Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect that ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962.
The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and Hamas took 251 hostages.
The resumption of airstrikes has raised concerns about the fate of roughly two dozen hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.