 "Israel says Rafah aid crossing remains closed as Hamas withholds bodies of hostages")
A day after Hamas handed over all 20 living Israeli hostages, the flow of aid through the Rafah crossing has been disrupted, as Israel refused to reopen the crossing, citing Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of all 28 hostages who died in its custody, The Times of Israel reported.
Israel said it would not reopen the Rafah border crossing to Egypt as required by the ceasefire deal, accusing Hamas of failing to fulfil its commitment to return the bodies of all deceased hostages. The government also announced it would reduce the amount of aid entering Gaza as part of sanctions against the group.
Only four bodies of deceased returned so far
Until Tuesday, Hamas had handed over only the remains of four captives — Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz, and two others whose identities have not yet been officially released — to Israeli authorities.
Israeli defence officials noted that Hamas had made no significant effort to return the remaining bodies, fuelling anger among families. The main group representing them demanded that the ceasefire implementation be paused until all loved ones are returned.
Red Cross warns of delays
The Red Cross said it could take “much more time” to retrieve the 24 remaining bodies due to conditions in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that forensic experts had identified the four bodies returned by Hamas on Monday night.
Military representatives notified the families of Guy Illouz, 26, who died of untreated wounds in captivity, Bipin Joshi, 23, who was murdered in captivity, and two others whose names will be released later.
Hamas said it returned the remains of Yossi Sharabi, 53, and IDF officer Cpt. Daniel Perez, 22, in addition to Illouz and Joshi.
The bodies were handed over just hours after Hamas released the 20 living hostages abducted during its invasion of Israel on 7 October 2023, which sparked the Gaza war.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to Israeli military intelligence, Illouz was wounded and kidnapped near the Gaza border’s Tel Gama area, after fleeing the massacre at the Re’im-area Nova party on the morning of the October 7 attack.
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