• Hamas takes over security, launches crackdown against alleged Israeli collaborators in Gaza
• European and Arab nations, Canada and US appear willing to help fund $70bn reconstruction plan, says UN

JERUSALEM: Israel will only allow half the agreed number of aid trucks into Gaza starting Wednes­day, in a setback to hopes food and supplies would be quickly ramped up to ease famine in the enclave.

COGAT, the Israeli military arm that oversees aid flows into Gaza, also notified the UN that no fuel or gas will be allowed into the enclave except for specific needs related to humanitarian infrastructure.

It blamed Hamas for the slow release of deceased prisoners’ bodies for the decision to limit aid trucks, but the group maintains that locating the bodies is difficult.

So far, Hamas has handed over four coffins of dead hostages, leaving at least 23 presumed dead and one unaccounted for still in Gaza. The group informed mediators it will begin transferring four more bodies to Israel later on Tuesday.

Tel Aviv has also delayed plans to open the southern Rafah border crossing to Egypt.

“We are still witnessing only few trucks coming in, and large crowds approaching these trucks in a way that does absolutely not conform to humanitarian standards,” ICRC spo­­kesperson Christian Cardon told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hamas tightened its grip on Gaza’s ruined cities, launching a crackdown and executing alleged collaborators, even as President Donald Trump warned that Hamas will be disarmed, even if it means violence.

A Palestinian security source in Gaza told AFP that Hamas’s security body, a recently established unit whose name translates as “Deterrence Force”, was conducting “ongoing field operations to ensure security and stability”.

“Our message is clear: There will be no place for outlaws or those who threaten the security of citizens,” he said.

For many Palestinians rebuilding their homes and lives Tuesday amid Gaza’s rubble, the sight of Hamas patrols was reassuring.

“After the war ended and the police spread out in the streets, we started to feel safe,” said 34-year-old Abu Fadi Al-Banna, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.

“They began organising traffic and clearing the markets, removing the street vendors who were blocking the roads. We felt protected from thugs and thieves.”

Separately, European and Arab nations, Canada and the US appear willing to contribute to the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, a UN official said on Tuesday, adding that the two-year war there had produced rubble equal to 13 times the pyramids of Giza.“We’ve heard very positive news from a number of our partners, including European partners… Canada” regarding their willingness to help, he told a press conference, adding that there were also discussions with the US.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025