The Red Cross has received the bodies of two deceased hostages from Hamas on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement.
The handover occurred at a meeting point in southern Gaza. The Red Cross is now traveling to meet IDF and ISA personnel in Gaza.
Prior to Saturday, Hamas has only returned 10 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages outlined in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that went into effect last week.
The ceasefire in Gaza appears to be largely holding as it entered its second week, but the truce has come under strain from the remaining hostage bodies in Gaza, the initially slow entry of aid into the enclave, and Israel’s continued deadly strikes.
Protests have ignited in Israel as frustration intensifies over the delay in returning the bodies of the remaining hostages. In Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, large crowds of demonstrators gathered on Saturday, urging the government to pressure Hamas to release the bodies.
Hamas has said that it handed over all of the hostage remains that it could access and that “extensive efforts and special equipment” would be needed to retrieve more. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.
But Israel believes that Hamas does know the locations of some of the deceased hostages it claims are missing, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter. Israel’s foreign minister has accused Hamas of trying to use the hostages’ bodies as leverage.
Speaking to Channel 14 on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war would end once all of the hostage bodies have been returned and Hamas is demilitarized.
“The war in Gaza will finally end when the terms of the agreement that was supposedly accepted are implemented, and this includes, first of all, Phase A – the return of all our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “Phase B also includes the disarmament of Hamas, or rather the disarmament of the Strip, and before that the disarmament of Hamas.”
Rafah crossing and crucial aid
As the dispute continues, the Rafah crossing will remain closed until further notice, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday. The crossing is a crucial link between Egypt and Gaza, serving as the enclave’s lifeline for humanitarian aid.
Netanyahu’s office said that its opening would be dependent on how “Hamas fulfills its part in returning the hostages and implementing the agreed-upon outline.”
Hamas criticized the delayed reopening of the crossing as “a blatant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement.” The group also condemned Israel’s strikes on Gaza.
Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military targeted a vehicle carrying 11 civilians, including several women and children, on Friday after it crossed a line that marks Israel’s control under the ceasefire agreement, Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, told CNN.
After coordinating with the United Nations, Gaza’s civil defense recovered on Saturday nine bodies, including four children and three women. The bodies of two other children are missing, the civil defense said.
The Israeli military told CNN its troops “fired warning shots” after a “suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line” – a reference to the initial Israeli withdrawal line. The military said the “vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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