Israel Receives Bodies of 2 Hostages Returned by Hamas: PM Office

Alsharq Tribune- Ahmed Essam 

Israel said Sunday it had received the remains of two more hostages handed over by Hamas militants in Gaza under a US-backed ceasefire agreement.

"Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the bodies of two hostages" which were returned to Israeli security forces in Gaza, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The bodies will be transferred to a medical analysis center in Israel to be identified, it added. Israel announced earlier Saturday that Gaza’s sole crossing with the outside world, Rafah, would stay closed “until further notice,” tying it to Hamas’ release of remains.

On Thursday it had said the crossing likely would reopen Sunday. Hamas has now handed over the remains of 12 of the 28 dead hostages in Gaza, a key step in the week-old ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

The militant group says devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover.

The statement by Netanyahu’s office on the Rafah crossing came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said it would reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza. Hamas called Netanyahu’s decision a violation of the ceasefire deal.