ALBAWABA- The Israeli military confirmed late Tuesday that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had taken custody of the remains of several Israeli hostages from Gaza, following hours of tense uncertainty over a delayed handover that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli army announced that Red Cross teams were “on their way to the rendezvous point in southern Gaza, where several coffins containing the remains of hostages will be handed over.”
The transfer, which took place late Tuesday night, followed mediation efforts to ease growing tensions between Israel and Hamas over the delayed recovery of the bodies.
A Hamas official told AFP that the group agreed to hand over the remains of four to six Israeli hostages, while a source involved in the operation told Reuters that an additional four bodies were expected to be transferred later in the evening.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly played a key role in calming both sides, according to Israel Hayom, after disagreements over the timing and logistics of the handover caused a brief diplomatic standoff.
Israeli officials told Axios that Hamas was “making efforts to return the remains” but warned that the group “thought we would go easy” on the matter. Families of Israeli captives, in a letter to Witkoff cited by CNN, urged swift action to secure the return of all those killed, warning that failure to do so could jeopardize the broader ceasefire agreement.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem reaffirmed the group’s commitment to the terms of the Gaza deal but acknowledged that “recovering the bodies of some hostages could take time,” citing destroyed areas and unidentified burial sites.
The ICRC echoed that challenge, with spokesperson Christian Cardon describing the process as a “tremendous task” due to the extensive devastation across Gaza.
Israeli estimates indicate that 28 bodies of Israeli hostages have been held in Gaza since October 7, with 20 recovered in recent days and four more expected imminently.
The development came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the start of “Phase Two” of his Gaza ceasefire plan, emphasizing Hamas’s disarmament as the next step.
Speaking to reporters at the White House following his return from the Middle East, Trump said he had communicated directly with Hamas and warned that disarmament would happen “quickly and possibly violently.”
“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm,” Trump declared, calling the recent hostage release “a great moment” but adding that “the job is not over yet — the dead have not been returned as promised.”
