In Tel Aviv, Israel, the fragile ceasefire in the protracted two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas was holding steady on Tuesday. This development follows a day of celebration over the return of the last 20 living hostages to Israel and the reciprocal release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Among the pressing concerns are questions about when Hamas will return the bodies of the 24 hostages believed to have died in Gaza. There is also widespread interest in the health status of both the recently freed hostages and the released Palestinians.

On Monday, only four of the deceased hostages were handed over to Israeli authorities as part of the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement, which was brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, the Israeli military confirmed the identities of two of the victims: Guy Illouz from Israel and Bipin Joshi, a student from Nepal.

Both men, in their 20s, were captured by Hamas-led militants during the attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war. Illouz was taken from the Nova music festival, while Joshi was seized from a bomb shelter.

Israel said Illouz died of his wounds while being held captive without proper medical treatment, while Joshi was murdered in captivity in the first months of the war — adding that the National Center of Forensic Medicine would later provide the final cause of death.

The freed Israeli hostages were in medical care on Tuesday, and some families said it would be weeks before the men could go home. In the West Bank and Gaza, where hundreds of prisoners were released, several were also taken to hospitals.

Separately, the Israeli military said troops in the northern Gaza Strip had “opened fire to remove the threat” of several people approaching them on Tuesday across the “yellow line” and not complying with orders to stop. It didn’t immediately comment on any casualties in the incident.

Part of the ceasefire agreement is that Israel would pull back in Gaza to the so-called yellow line where its forces were in August, before launching their latest offensive on the Gaza City in the strip’s north.

Longer-term issues also hang in the balance, including whether Hamas will disarm, who will govern and help rebuild Gaza, and the overarching question of Palestinian statehood, which is central for Palestinians and many countries in the region.

“The first steps to peace are always the hardest,” Trump had said as he stood with foreign leaders in Egypt on Monday for a summit on Gaza’s future. He hailed the ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas as the end of the war in Gaza — and start of rebuilding the devastated territory.

On Tuesday, the U.N. development agency said the latest joint estimate from the U.N., the European Union and the World Bank is that $70 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza. Jaco Cillers, special representative of UNDP administrator for a program to help Palestinians, said $20 billion would be needed in the next three years, and the rest would be needed over a longer period — possibly decades.

In Egypt, Trump urged regional leaders to “put old feuds aside” as world leaders met to discuss the challenges ahead in securing a lasting peace. Representatives from Israel or Hamas were not at the summit.

Dell’Orto reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

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