Hamas returns two more Israeli hostages’ bodies 22 remain

On the night of October 15, the Palestinian military group Hamas handed over the bodies of two more Israeli hostages under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, the group announced.

However, the group added that it needs time and specialised equipment to recover the rest of the deceased from the ruins of Gaza, Caliber.Az reports per the BBC.

The group's armed wing said in a statement it was committed to the deal but had returned all the bodies of hostages it was able to reach.

US President Donald Trump has said Israeli forces could resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not uphold the agreement.

In a statement, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Israel had received - through the Red Cross - coffins containing the bodies of hostages which were now awaiting official identification.

Senior US advisors providing an update on the implementation of the 20-point peace plan said that the US government did not so far believe Hamas had broken the agreement by not retrieving the remains of remaining deceased hostages.

The advisors argued that Hamas had acted in good faith by returning the live hostages and was working with various interlocutors to find and return the remains of hostages.

If the two returned bodies are confirmed to be hostages, that would mean 19 are still unaccounted for in Gaza. Hamas is required to return all 28 dead hostages as part of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.

Initial deliveries included four bodies on October 13. To date, 22 more hostages remain to be returned to the Israeli side. As Gaza's 70% of infrastructure is reduced to rubble, locating the hostages' bodies is too complicated. 

By Khagan Isayev