Hamas returns four more bodies of hostages, Israeli military says

BBC:

Hamas has returned the bodies of four more deceased hostages, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said, with identification work underway.

The Red Cross retrieved the remains in coffins and handed them over to the Israeli military late on Tuesday night.

The transfer came after Israel warned it would restrict aid into Gaza until Hamas returned the bodies of all 28 deceased hostages. The Palestinian armed group handed back 20 living and four deceased hostages on Monday.

The remains of 45 deceased Palestinians who had been held in Israel were returned to Gaza on Tuesday, the Red Cross said in a statement.

The first four deceased hostages released by Hamas on Monday have been identified by Israel as Daniel Peretz, 22; Yossi Sharabi, 53; Guy Illouz, 26 and Bipin Joshi, 23, a Nepalese national.

US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan, which both Israel and Hamas accepted, envisaged the handover of all 48 hostages would be completed by noon on Monday.

While all living hostages were returned, pressure is growing on Hamas and the Israeli government over the remains of 20 hostages which Hamas has not yet repatriated. Palestinians are increasingly worried that a delay in Hamas returning the bodies could bring uncertainty to the future of the ceasefire.