Finding remains of hostages in Gaza will be ‘immense challenge,’ Mideast analyst says

Amna Nawaz:

Well, with Hamas yet to return all the hostage remains as part of this first phase of the cease-fire deal, we turn now to Yousef Munayyer. He's the head of the Palestine-Israel Program and senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C. That's a nonprofit research group.

Yousef, welcome to the show.

You heard Leila report there Hamas say they don't know where all the bodies are. What should we understand about why they don't know and if they will be able to make good on the pledge to return all the remains.

Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director, Arab Center Washington, D.C.:

Right. Thank you for having me.

I mean, the first thing I would say is, this was actually largely expected. In the agreement that was hammered out in Cairo prior to the peace summit the other day, where Donald Trump met with all these global leaders to declare an end to the war, there was a detailed agreement about this part of the process that the Israelis came to along with the Palestinians and the mediators.

And part of that agreement actually delineated what would happen with regards to the remains of Israeli captives that were still inside Gaza. And the Palestinians made it very clear at that point that they're not in possession of all of these remains and that it will take some time.

So a mechanism was established to share information between the different parties, the Palestinians on the ground, the mediators and the Red Cross, about what they know of these remains, where they are, how they're trying to reach them. And that was agreed upon at that point.

So what's concerning now is that the Israelis seem to be acting as if this was a surprise, when in fact we knew that this was going to be an immense challenge. Remember, some 83 percent of structures in the Gaza Strip have been partially or completely destroyed, and there's very little heavy equipment with which to do the searching.

So this is a big reason why we're at this place today.

Amna Nawaz:

So, Yousef, a lot of questions, it sounds like, on what's been publicly said and what's privately agreed to, but a lot of questions around whether or not the remaining bodies will be returned.

I do want to ask you about what we have seen just in the last couple of days on the ground in Gaza, which is Hamas forces in uniform standing guard in some areas, also engaging in gun battles with people who don't support them, and also horrifying video of them rounding up and executing publicly people who they accuse of collaborating with Israel.

Is all of that sanctioned activity by the same Hamas leadership that signed on to this cease-fire deal?

Yousef Munayyer:

Well, I certainly cannot speak for them. They would have to speak on that. And I'm not sure that I have seen any statement in relation to that.

What I can tell you is that extrajudicial assassinations or killings are clearly violations of international law in pretty much every circumstance. At the same time, the situation in Gaza is extremely fragile and dangerous. There is no real authority in Gaza right now, except for the pieces of what's left of the previous Hamas authority on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

And there are a large number of vigilantes, gangs, groups that have been involved in other extreme activity, groups that have been collaborating with the Israelis and implicated in other human rights violations.

And we also have to keep in mind, over the last two years, police stations in the Gaza Strip have been targeted and destroyed. Courthouses have been targeted and destroyed. Members of the civilian police force in Gaza, some 1,500 of them, have been killed by the Israeli military. So it's not surprising at this point that law enforcement is not exactly present in the Gaza Strip or behaving in the ways we would normally expect in a situation where there is control and no war.

So, obviously, these scenes are very disturbing. And it's incumbent, I think, on all parties to act within the bounds of international law. But it's going to be a very difficult situation in Gaza until there is an authority or government established that can take the reins of the situation on the ground.

Amna Nawaz:

A very tenuous peace deal in place and, as you note, a lot of questions ahead, let alone disarmament, governance down the line.

Yousef Munayyer from the Palestine-Israel Program at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., thank you so much for joining us.

Yousef Munayyer:

Thank you.