Hamas handed over the body of another hostage to the Red Cross on Friday night amid tensions over the delay in the return of remains agreed upon in the ceasefire agreement.
Around midnight local time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the Red Cross had notified the army that it had recently collected a coffin from Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
"Israel received, through the Red Cross, the coffin of a dead hostage who was handed over to the Israeli army and Shin Bet (internal security service) forces in the Gaza Strip," he added.
The remains will later be transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for identification.
So far, Israeli authorities said they have received nine of the 28 bodies held by Hamas in Gaza, insisting that the Islamist group knows the whereabouts of the hostages. Hamas, for its part, has attributed the delays to technical problems and indicated the need for heavy machinery and excavation equipment to speed up the recovery of bodies buried under the rubble.
According to a statement from Hamas's military wing on Friday, another body was recovered and its release will be scheduled for 11:00 p.m. local time. An Israeli security source specified that the handover to the Red Cross is scheduled for 00:30 a.m. in Israel (9:30 p.m. GMT). Hamas reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and the release of the remains of all remaining hostages.
The controversy surrounding the return of bodies has cast a shadow over the ceasefire agreement, which constitutes the first phase of the 20-point plan promoted by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict. Earlier, Hamas called on international mediators to intervene to facilitate the next steps under the agreement, which include the reopening of borders, the entry of humanitarian aid, the beginning of reconstruction, the establishment of a local administration, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
According to the plan supported by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, violence in Gaza has significantly reduced. This week, the 20 live hostages captured during the October 7, 2023, assault were released and returned to Israel. Separately, on Thursday, Israel reported that preparations are underway to reopen the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, allowing Palestinian movement, though it did not specify a date and attributed the delays to disagreements with Hamas over alleged ceasefire violations.
Other aspects of the plan remain pending, such as the disarmament of combatants and the definition of the future government in Gaza.
Hamas urged mediators to ensure compliance with the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
The Islamist group Hamas on Friday urged mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza to intensify their monitoring efforts in the face of outstanding commitments that Israel has failed to meet, especially regarding the entry of humanitarian aid, the opening of the Rafah crossing, and the start of urgent reconstruction in the area.
In a statement, Hamas emphasized the need for humanitarian aid to be delivered in the" required amounts" to cover the basic needs of the Gaza Strip population, the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions for citizens, and the implementation of reconstruction projects. The organization announced the need to immediately establish the"Community Support Committee," an entity composed of fifteen independent technocrats responsible for the administration of Gaza after the ceasefire, in line with the approval of the various Palestinian factions. In its message, it urged that this committee begin its functions and manage the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces to the established locations.
In parallel, the Gazan government, under Hamas control, denounced the inadequacy of aid currently arriving in Gaza. On Thursday, the local government announced that 480 trucks of humanitarian aid, three of cooking gas and six of fuel, had arrived the previous day, but warned that"the quantities that have arrived are very limited and do not even cover the minimum living and humanitarian needs" of the population. According to an official statement, the Strip requires at least 600 trucks of aid daily, which must be constantly arriving.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of Wednesday, 190,000 tons of aid were authorized by Israeli authorities and in the pipeline to enter Gaza. However, the population is still waiting for the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt to open for human transit. Israeli media reported that Israel is delaying this opening in response to Hamas's delay in handing over the bodies of the remaining hostages.
