From Tel Aviv - Hamas today handed over only four of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages it had promised to return as part of a ceasefire agreement. The terrorist group claims they are the remains of Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi, and Captain Daniel Perez. However, they still have to go through an identification process to verify their identities. Hamas has already handed over switched bodies in the past. In February, it sent a coffin with a photograph of Shiri Bibas, the Argentine woman murdered along with her young children Kfri and Ariel. However, when experts did their work, they found the body of another woman...
Hamas's decision to release only four of the 28 remains of slain hostages still in Gaza sparked outrage and distress among the families of those still missing. The announcement, which came after the return of 20 live hostages and amid the anticipation of Donald Trump's visit, was seen by the families as a violation of the agreement reached.
The agreement called for the return of the bodies of all deceased hostages held by Hamas. However, days earlier, the terrorist group had hinted at difficulties in locating all the remains within the established timeframe.
Israeli intelligence had anticipated that between seven and fifteen bodies might be received, but the final figure was even lower. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff had also warned families about the complexity of recovering some bodies, noting that the process could face logistical and tracing obstacles.
Process of delivery and repatriation of bodies
The process of delivering and repatriating the bodies was carried out in a solemn manner. A convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross headed to the southern Gaza Strip to collect the first two coffins, which were handed over to Israeli forces in a brief ceremony presided over by a military rabbi. Hours later, the operation was repeated with two more coffins.
The coffins, draped with Israeli flags, were given honors before being escorted by police to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, where the identification process will begin.
In the case of members of the armed forces, the remains will be transferred to the Shura military base to complete formal procedures.
Israeli authorities estimated that identification could take between 10 and 48 hours, after which the bodies would be returned to the families for burial, whether civilian or military. Meanwhile, Israeli forces' liaison teams began coordinating with the families to arrange funerals and determine cemeteries.
Alarm among families
The reaction of the hostages' families was immediate. The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons called the partial handover a"flagrant violation of the agreement by Hamas" and demanded an immediate response from both the Israeli government and international mediators."We expect the Israeli government and the mediators to act immediately to correct this terrible injustice," the group said, also highlighting the extreme suffering endured by the families of the deceased.
In the days leading up to the meeting, several family members received notification that their loved ones' bodies would not be released that day or the next, increasing the sense of helplessness and frustration. The Forum emphasized that the families are experiencing particularly difficult times and called on international mediators to demand that Hamas strictly comply with the agreed terms.
On the official level, Israeli authorities reiterated their commitment to spare no effort to locate and repatriate all remains. President Isaac Herzog, in a public address, asserted that the State of Israel would not rest or remain silent until it fulfilled its"moral, Jewish, and human" obligation to return all the hostages and dispel any doubts about their whereabouts.
Herzog emphasized that peace for the families will only come when all the missing are returned and can receive a decent burial.
Not recovering the remains is a nightmare for the families. This has been a unanimous demand of the forum and all the freed former hostages. A dignified burial is of utmost importance to Judaism. Hamas knows this, and since October 7, when they decided to take the bodies to Gaza, they have speculated on this suffering.
The terrorists claim the Israeli offensive was so violent that it's now difficult to locate them. To dismantle that narrative, the mediators of the agreement—led by Trump—announced the creation of an international team to search for the remains, but family members fear the initiative will not achieve its goal.
