4 More Bodies of Israeli Hostages Expected to Be Released Soon

Israel on Wednesday identified more bodies of dead hostages that were handed over by Hamas a day earlier to ease pressure on a fragile ceasefire in its war with Israel. The handover came after an Israeli military agency warned it would slash aid deliveries to Gaza as the militant group was not returning the remains as agreed. Three of four bodies handed over on Tuesday night were identified as Israeli hostages but the identity of the fourth remained in question, the AP reports. The first four bodies, released to Israel Monday, had already been identified, NBC News reports. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal about the return of the hostages' bodies. "We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one," he said.

The US-proposed ceasefire plan had called for all hostages—living and dead—to be handed over by a deadline that expired on Monday. But under the deal if that didn't happen, Hamas was to share information about deceased hostages and try to hand over all as soon as possible. On Monday, Israelis celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza and Palestinians rejoiced at Israel's release of some 2,000 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire's first phase. But families of hostages and their supporters expressed dismay that the 28 dead hostages were not all returned. Hamas and the Red Cross have said that recovering the remains of dead hostages was a challenge because of Gaza's vast destruction, and Hamas told mediators of the deal that some are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.

Israel has threatened to restrict humanitarian aid into Gaza in response to the delay transferring the bodies of dead hostages, the BBC reports. On Wednesday, Israel said it would reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, but just for Palestinians to enter and exit. "Humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing. No such agreement has been reached at any stage," said an official. Four more bodies are expected to be transferred to Israel Wednesday. (Meanwhile, despite Israel's release of many Palestinian prisoners, more than 100 doctors and other medical personnel remain imprisoned.)