FAMILIES OUTRAGED AS HAMAS RETURNS ONLY FOUR OF 28 HOSTAGE BODIES IN GAZA CEASEFIRE DEAL
Families of the dead hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza have expressed anger after Hamas returned only four of the 28 bodies believed to still be there.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas had until midday local time (12:00 BST) yesterday to return all hostages to Israel – alive and deceased.
The Israeli military confirmed it had received the remains of four hostages, and will be carrying out forensic tests to confirm their identities.
Hamas said they were the bodies of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi, and Daniel Peretz. It has said the burial sites of the 24 others are unknown, and will take time to locate.
The ceasefire agreement, published by Israeli media, appears to have acknowledged that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not be able to locate where all the remains are within the timeframe given.
Yesterday, the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to suspend the ceasefire deal, saying Hamas’s “violation of the deal must be met with a serious response.”
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said that releasing only four bodies would be a “failure” by Hamas to meet its commitments.
