Hamas delivered 2 coffins with the remains of hostages to the global Red Cross Committee on Wednesday evening. This is another part of the body exchange as part of the truce between Israel and the Palestinian organization in force since Friday.
The Red Cross will hand over the bodies to Israeli soldiers stationed in the Gaza Strip, from where after a brief mourning ceremony they will be transported to Israel for identification. Hamas didn't give the identity of the bodies released.
Difficulties to hand over all the remains
The Palestinian group was due to hand over the bodies of all 28 people who were kidnapped by Monday, but that day they released the remains of 4 hostages. On Tuesday evening Hamas donated another 4 coffins, but the Israeli authorities, after examining the body, found that only 3 were kidnapped.
If it is confirmed that the remains delivered on Wednesday night belonged to the hostages, the bodies of 19 kidnapped people will inactive stay in Gaza. Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Kasam Brigade, announced Wednesday evening that it had fulfilled its obligations and released 20 surviving hostages on Monday, and later released the corpses of all of the 28 killed "who managed to reach".
Exchange within a truce
The release of the bodies is part of the truce in force since Friday. As part of the agreement, Hamas released already on Friday 20 last surviving hostages, and Israel released nearly 2,000 detained Palestinians.
Under the agreement for the death of each hostage, Israel was to hand over the bodies of 15 killed Palestinians. The Ministry of wellness of the Gaza Strip announced that a further 45 dead bodies had been transferred on Wednesday, with a full of Israel having released remains of 90 Palestinians so far.
Delays affect border crossing
The Israeli authorities, in consequence to Hamas delays, decided that the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah would not be open for many months on Wednesday. The border point is due to be opened on Thursday and the European Union mission will be supervised.
A spokesperson for the global Red Cross Committee Christian Cardon stated on Tuesday that uncovering and handing over to Israel the corpses of hostages was a major challenge that could take days or weeks to implement. He added that any bodies may never be found.
Sources used: "PAP" Note: This article has been edited with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.
