Hamas just released a statement on returning the dead Israeli hostages back to Israel, claiming that they are working to retrieve the bodies and it’s taking great effort and special equipment to do so:
Here’s more via SBS News:
Hamas said it has handed back to Israel the remains of all the deceased hostages that it can reach, and that it will need special recovery equipment to reach more bodies promised under a US-brokered ceasefire deal aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, had announced it would hand over the bodies of two Israeli hostages on Wednesday evening at 10pm local time (6am Thursday AEDT), describing the move as part of the ongoing “hostage-prisoner exchange” agreed to under the truce.
The Israeli military confirmed shortly after 6am that the Red Cross had received two coffins of deceased hostages from Hamas and were on their way to meet Israeli military forces with the remains.
“The Resistance has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in its custody, as well as the corpses it could access,” Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement on social media.
“As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file.”
President Trump just suggested that he will give the word for Netanyahu to resume military action against Hamas if they don’t return all the hostages:
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would consider allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to the streets “as soon as I say the word.”
“What’s going on with Hamas – that’ll be straightened out quickly,” the president said in a brief telephone call.