Israel accuses Hamas of violating Gaza deal over failure to return hostages bodies

Hostages freed under Trump plan

Israel has refused to reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, accusing Hamas of failing to meet its obligation to return the bodies of Israeli captives who died while in Gaza. Although Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages on Monday, Israeli officials say the group has so far returned only four sets of remains out of 28, accusing Hamas of violating the Gaza deal.

Hamas has informed mediators it will begin transferring bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages to Israel at 10 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Tuesday, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.

Israeli officials also said 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, reported Reuters.

According to The Times of Israel, the closure of Rafah has disrupted the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, despite the ceasefire deal stating that aid flows must continue. Jerusalem says it will keep the crossing shut and has also announced plans to scale back humanitarian supplies as a form of pressure.

“Hamas has not fulfilled its commitment to return the bodies,” Israeli authorities said, insisting that until all deceased captives are recovered, there would be no movement at Rafah. The main organisation representing hostage families has demanded a halt to further ceasefire steps “until all loved ones are returned.”

Only four bodies have been transferred so far -- those of Bipin Joshi and Guy Illouz, along with two others who have not yet been publicly named by Israel. Forensic teams from the Israel Defense Forces confirmed their identities overnight. Military representatives informed the Illouz family that the 26-year-old “died of untreated wounds in captivity,” while Joshi, 23, “was murdered in captivity.”

Hamas, in a separate statement, claimed it had also handed over the remains of “Yossi Sharabi” and “Cpt. Daniel Perez,” in addition to Illouz and Joshi. The bodies were transferred shortly after the release of the 20 living captives, who were abducted during the 7 October assault that triggered the Gaza conflict.

The Red Cross has warned that recovering the remaining bodies could take “much more time” due to conditions inside Gaza. Israeli defence officials argue that Hamas has shown “no significant effort” to locate or retrieve the remaining 24 sets of remains.

Israeli intelligence reports say Illouz was injured and captured near Tel Gama, close to the Gaza border, after escaping the Nova music festival massacre near Re’im during the 7 October attacks.