Egyptian Red Crecent members monitor trucks carrying humanitarian aid as they enter the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat) A day after Hamas handed over all 20 living Israeli hostages, paving the way for the war in Gaza to end and the ceasefire deal to come into effect, families of the slain captives are accusing the Palestinian militant group of breaching the agreement. This is after Hamas failed to return the bodies of all 28 hostages who died in their custody.
Only four bodies returned by Hamas
Until Tuesday, Hamas has only handed over the remains of four captives, Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz and two other hostages whose identities have not yet been officially revealed yet, to Israeli authorities.
While Hamas had agreed to return the remains of all the dead hostages, there has been no set timeframe for the process to be completed.
Families of hostages appeal to Witkoff
This has angered the families of the dead hostages, who are now calling on Israel to pull out of the ceasefire deal, citing Hamas’s failure to uphold its part of the commitment.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Tuesday wrote to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, urging his intervention for the return of the 24 deceased hostages.
“Only four deceased hostages are coming home today. Only four families will be able to bring their loved ones to the dignified burial they so deserve and begin to find closure. How is this possible? How can we accept that the others remain behind?” the families said in the letter.
“We must ensure that all remaining hostages come home. We cannot rest, and we know you will not rest, until every last hostage is returned,” it said further.
“We ask you to pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned in demanding that Hamas fulfill their end of the agreement and bring all the remaining hostages home,” the families said.
Why the 24 hostages may never be returned
The 24 deceased hostages died at various stages of the two-year-long conflict and were buried in different parts of Gaza. Due to various factors, including the death of Hamas fighters who buried them and the destruction caused by Israeli bombardment, locating them is a major challenge.
Massive challenge: Red Cross
On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross called the return of the dead hostages a “massive challenge,” given the difficulties of finding bodies amid Gaza’s rubble.
“That’s an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released. That’s a massive challenge,” ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon said, adding it could take days or weeks and that there was a possibility they would never be found.
Egyptian media on Tuesday reported that teams from the country, with the support of an Israeli technical team, are operating inside the Gaza Strip to recover the remains of Israeli hostages.
Israel refuses to reopen Rafah crossing
Meanwhile, as the uncertainty over the return of the 24 hostages continues, Israel has decided not to reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Under the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to open the Rafah crossing to allow the much-needed aid to enter Gaza.
Israel has also reduced the amount of aid flowing into Gaza as Israeli defence officials believe that Hamas has not made significant efforts to return the remaining bodies of the hostages.
