The situation in Gaza on Saturday was called "ice and fire": Hamas had just handed over two hostage coffins through the Red Cross in the evening, bringing the number of hostage remains that Israel has recovered to 12 (a total of 28 are pending handover).
Israel suddenly announced, Rafah, Gaza's only external port, was "closed indefinitely" and bluntly said that this was linked to the progress of the transfer of remains.
The shift was too rapid—to know that Israel was speaking out on Thursday, the Rafah Strait could reopen on Sunday, turning 180 degrees in just two days.
According to the news, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt hurriedly stated that "on Monday can be open for people to return", Hamas more directly criticized it was a "violation of the ceasefire agreement", the three sides said.
The Rafah crossing is no ordinary pass. Since Israel took control of the Gaza side in May 2024, this place has not been really open. It has been closed for almost a year and a half.
For Gazans, this is the only way to Egypt for medical treatment and family visits. There are tens of thousands of Palestinians living in Egypt, and many families are looking forward to seeing each other again when the port opens.
Now, it has become a bargaining chip in Israel's hands: Do you want the port to open? Let's hand over the remains.
But Hamas also has difficulties. They say it's not that they don't want to hand over it, but that they really can't do it quickly.
The 10th remains identified on Friday, 76-year-old Eliyahu Margarit, were dug up by a bulldozer in the ruins of Khan Younis.
Gaza is everywhere after the bombing, the Israeli army in March 2024 was still engaged in raids, the remains are buried deeply, the ruins are not exploded, the search and rescue personnel could go a step forward, without heavy equipment can not dig.
What's even worse is that the United States is still adding fuel to the fire. Trump directly said that "Israel will be approved to restart the war without returning the remains." This is simply an ultimatum.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department stepped up its statement, saying that Hamas "plans to attack civilians in Gaza." Although it did not provide evidence, if this is true, the ceasefire agreement may really collapse.
In the final analysis, both sides are competing with chips, but what suffer is the patients waiting for customs clearance to see a doctor and the families waiting for their loved ones to go home. This is a ceasefire, and it is clearly a "new confrontation in the name of ceasefire".
Two-way suffering under the ruins: whose relatives are not the lives?
Behind the dispute over the transfer of the remains, the most disturbing is the common pain of families on both sides, but many look only at Israeli hostages, forgetting that the Palestinian families are also waiting for their loved ones to go home.
On the other side of Israel, there are weekly rallies in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square,” and the uncle of the hostage, Ophel Caldron, who was released, Iffat said: “No one wants to fight again, but suffering must have a head, and all the hostages must return.”
19-year-old Yitai Chen died in a tank, and his body was still in Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, stomped his feet anxiously when he looked at the list of 48 people in the agreement: "Don't always say that 29 people have come back. Where are the remaining 19?"
The scene in Palestine is even more irritating. Bodies handed over by Israel are often marked with numbers but not names, and Gaza's health department can only post photos online for family members to identify them.
In Nasser Hospital, every day, mothers like Iman Sakani cry at photos: "Give me back my son and bring all the children back."
Some women kneel down and cry bitterly after recognizing their loved ones. Such pictures are staged every day.
Israel handed over 15 Palestinian remains on Saturday, bringing the total to 135, but this is not even a fraction of the figure of "more than 68,000 dead and thousands missing."
Although the statistics of the health department in Gaza do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the United Nations recognizes them as reliable. Israel's attitude is really unjustifiable if it just questions it but cannot come up with its own figures.
Worse, the humanitarian crisis is still worsening.The United Nations says only 339 aid trucks have been dispatched since the ceasefire, and the agreement clearly requires about 600 trucks a day, which is far too far.
Israel said that "enough food was given and Hamas stole it." The United Nations directly denied it. However, no matter who is right, it is true that Gazans are starving. International experts have long said that there is already famine here.
Tom Fletcher, an official of the United Nations, went to Gaza City and bluntly said that "most of the city is in ruins", which makes people feel uncomfortable to think about.
On Friday, the Gaza Civil Defense Department said an Israeli car was fired in the eastern region, killing nine people, including women and children.
The Israeli army's explanation is that "there is a threat of vehicles crossing the line", but nine lives can really be determined so easily?
What is even more worrying is that even though the first phase of the ceasefire agreement has been reached, the Israeli army is still conducting air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said they dropped 153 tons of bombs a day.
As the Ministry of National Security cried out, Israel should resume the war until the hostages are taken back.
This war, which began on October 7, 2023, has killed too many people on both sides, and now the ceasefire is still blaming each other and taking people's livelihoods as a token.
In fact, whether it is Israel or Palestine, the tears of family members are hot, and the remains under the ruins are all former relatives. If there is no consensus on "letting the dead rest in peace and the living live", peace may really be in the foreseeable future.