Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was preparing on Wednesday to receive the remains of a deceased hostage from the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian fighters are still holding the bodies of two captives.

"Israel is preparing to receive in the coming hours from the Red Cross the coffin of a fallen hostage who was located today during searches in the northern Gaza Strip," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

It added that the remains would be sent for forensic identification.

In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Hamas's said that along with the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad militant group, it would hand over a hostage body at 5pm local time.

A Doctors Without Borders official has pleaded for countries to open their doors to tens of thousands of Gazans in dire need of medical evacuation, warning that hundreds have already died waiting.

"The need is really huge," said Hani Isleem, who coordinates medical evacuations from Gaza for the charity, known by its French acronym MSF.

The numbers taken in by countries so far remains "just a drop in the ocean", Isleem told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 8,000 patients have been evacuated out of Gaza since the war erupted. It says more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside of the Palestinian territory.

Isleem said that number was based only on patients registered for medical evacuation and the true figure was higher. "Our estimate is that it is three to four times that number," he said.

Egypt denied that it had agreed with Israel the opening of the Rafah crossing to Gaza for residents of the Palestinian territory to exit, insisting it be opened in both directions.

"If an agreement is reached to open the crossing, it will be in both directions, to enter and exit the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the plan of US President Donald Trump," the state information service said in a statement, quoting an official Egyptian source.

Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, north of the southern city of Rafah, which remains under Israeli control, according to local health authorities.

In a statement, the Israeli military said forces identified "[fighters]" who crossed the yellow line, which marks areas the army still occupies. It said they were advancing towards troops in southern Gaza, posing an immediate threat, before it struck them.

Medics said one of those killed was a woman. The identities of the two others weren't immediately clear.

Residents said Israeli forces continued to demolish houses in the eastern areas of Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City, where forces continue to operate.

DPM Ishaq Dar criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza, terming the genocidal war a humanitarian crisis, and reiterated Pakistan’s support for diplomacy and peaceful dispute resolution.

He was speaking at the Islamabad Conclave 2025, titled “Reimagining South Asia: Security, Economy, Climate, Connectivity.”

He said Pakistan is committed to working with all willing partners to help South Asia achieve its immense potential.

Dar highlighted that the region’s security, economic fragility, and climate challenges cannot be addressed effectively amid political fragmentation. He also called for the removal of artificial obstacles in Saarc’s functioning, saying connectivity should replace divisions, economies should grow in synergy, and disputes should be resolved peacefully.

He concluded by stressing the importance of dialogue, diplomacy, and multilateralism based on international law and the UN Charter. “Pakistan seeks a just, equitable, and inclusive world order and has consistently championed cooperation over confrontation,” he said.

Israel said on Wednesday it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt to allow residents to exit the Palestinian territory "in the coming days".

"In accordance with the ceasefire agreement... the Rafah Crossing will open in the coming days exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt", COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement.

COGAT added that the crossing would operate under the supervision of the EU's Border Assistance Mission, "similar to the mechanism that operated in January 2025", when the crossing was briefly opened during a six-week truce.

Two European diplomatic sources told AFP they had originally been preparing for the crossing's opening for pedestrians on October 14 after a similar announcement, before the opening was delayed.

JERUSALEM: Israel has said that remains retrieved from Gaza the day before were "not linked" to the last two dead hostages held in the Palestinian territory, following forensic tests.

In a statement, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Following the completion of the identification process at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine, it was determined that the findings brought yesterday for examination from the Gaza Strip are not linked to any of the fallen hostages."

GENEVA:  Doctors Without Borders official has pleaded for countries to open their doors to tens of thousands of Gazans in dire need of medical evacuation, warning that hundreds have already died waiting.

"The need is really huge," said Hani Isleem, who coordinates medical evacuations from Gaza for the charity, known by its French acronym MSF.

The numbers taken in by countries so far remains "just a drop in the ocean", Isleem told AFP in an interview.

The WGO estimates that more than 8,000 patients have been evacuated out of Gaza since the war erupted and that more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside of the Palestinian territory.

To date, over 30 countries have taken patients, but only a handful, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, have accepted large numbers.

Israel has ignored the ceasefire in Gaza almost every day since it was announced on October 10, 2025, and the violence has left hundreds dead and even more wounded, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, from October 10 to December 2, Israel violated the truce at least 591 times. 

There were airstrikes, shelling, shootings, a bit of everything. Civilians were shot at 164 times, they said. Residential areas beyond the “yellow line” were raided 25 times. 

Bombing and shelling happened 280 times. Homes and property were destroyed 118 times.

The office also said 35 Palestinians were arrested over the past month. Humanitarian aid is still blocked in some areas. Roads and infrastructure have been damaged in parts of the Strip.

Al Jazeera has been tracking the violations as they happen.

Earlier, on September 29, the United States put forward a 20-point plan. It wanted Israel to release captives, allow aid in, and pull back forces in stages. So far, nothing has really changed on the ground.