The Red Cross has received the bodies of two additional hostages from Hamas, bringing the total number of remains returned to nine out of 28, as the militant group claims it has handed over all bodies it can currently reach.
In a statement, Hamas’s armed wing said it had “fulfilled its commitment” under the ceasefire deal by returning “all living Israeli prisoners” and the corpses accessible to them, adding that recovering the remaining bodies “requires extensive efforts and special equipment.”
The IDF confirmed the caskets would be transferred to troops inside Gaza for a brief ceremony led by a military rabbi before being taken for identification.
“Hamas is required to abide by the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the bodies,” the Israeli military said.
Tensions over the ceasefire intensified earlier this week after Hamas mistakenly returned the body of a Palestinian instead of an Israeli hostage.
Israeli spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said the government “will not compromise” on the return of all fallen hostages, vowing to continue efforts “until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them.”
US President Donald Trump told CNN that while Hamas had so far returned only a fraction of the hostages’ bodies, “getting those 20 [living] hostages out was paramount,” adding that “Israel will return to those [Gaza] streets as soon as I say the word.”
Commenting on reports of Hamas executing alleged collaborators, Trump said the group was “clearing out violent gangs,” but added he was “doing research” on whether civilians were among those killed.
Meanwhile, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged Israel to open all crossings into Gaza to allow unrestricted delivery of aid.
“We rely on all the crossings to get our aid in … it should happen now,” he said, stressing that immediate access must be part of the ongoing peace agreement discussions.
Source: The Australian.
