Hamas will hand over four more bodies of Israeli hostages tonight, officials say, as all four previous remains returned to Israel have been identified.
The group has informed mediators it will begin transferring bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages to Israel at 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Tuesday, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.
Earlier, Israeli officials said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed at least through Wednesday and the flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave would be reduced to put pressure on the militant group to hand over the bodies of the hostages it is holding.
It comes as Red Cross teams are searching Gaza‘s ruins for deceased hostages who were held in Gaza after Israel warned Hamas it had until tonight to return the remaining bodies.
However, the International Committee of the charity said it may take considerable time to hand over the remains of hostages and detainees killed in the Israel-Hamas war.
Hamas will hand over four more bodies of Israeli hostages tonight, officials say, as all four previous remains returned to Israel have been identified. Pictured: A team of Red Cross experts seen driving through Gaza today
The 24 dead hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza. Bereaved families have expressed anger and frustration that their loved ones’ bodies have not been returned
It said it was a ‘massive challenge’ given the difficulties of finding bodies in Gaza’s rubble.
Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees as U.S. President Donald Trump declared an end to the two-year war.
But only four coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages have so far been returned to Israel, leaving over 20 bodies yet to be located.
For its part, Israel is supposed to hand over an unspecified number of Palestinian bodies.
‘The search for human remains is obviously an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released. That’s a massive challenge,’ ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon said at a Geneva press briefing, adding it could take days or weeks.
‘I think there is clearly a risk that that will take much more time. What we are telling the parties is that that should be their top priority,’ he said on Tuesday.
The Geneva-based ICRC said it is providing an additional 23 staff, body bags and refrigerated vehicles to ensure the deceased are handled with respect and dignity within Gaza, which was reduced to widespread rubble by the war.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
