Hamas handed over the bodies of two Israeli hostages killed in Gaza to the International Red Cross. Israel conditioned the reopening of the Rafah border crossing on full compliance with the ceasefire agreement, including the surrender of all bodies.
The Israeli Army confirmed this Saturday that Hamas handed over the bodies of two Israeli hostages killed in Gaza to the International Red Cross, bringing to 12 the number of hostages whose remains were returned.
The delivery took place this evening, but the identities of the victims have not yet been released. The Islamist group had already handed over, last week, the remains of 10 of the 28 dead hostages who still remained in Gaza.
The return is one of the conditions of the ceasefire brokered by the United States and supported by Egypt, which aims to end two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
“The reopening will be considered based on Hamas’ compliance with its obligations regarding the return of hostages and the bodies of those killed,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
Hamas stated, in turn, that the process of recovering the remains was hampered by the devastation caused by the war, the presence of unexploded explosive devices and Israeli military control of part of the territory.
The Israeli Army has also returned unidentified bodies of Palestinians, only numbered, leading the Gaza Ministry of Health to release photographs of the bodies, in the hope that the families will be able to recognize them.
The ceasefire also provides for an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid, which has been very limited since the start of the war.
United Nations data indicates that 339 aid trucks have been unloaded since the start of the truce, far below the approximately 600 per day foreseen in the agreement.
