After the delivery of the remains of Israeli detainees failed, which sparked great tension during the past hours, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday that the Red Cross had received the remains of 4 detainees from Gaza.
Earlier, the army issued a statement saying, “The Red Cross is on its way to the meeting point in the southern Gaza Strip, where several coffins containing the remains of dead detainees will be delivered to its custody.”
This came after a Hamas leader said on Tuesday evening that the movement would hand over the bodies of four to six Israeli detainees tonight, according to Agence France-Presse.
An official involved in the operation also confirmed that the movement informed the mediators that it would begin sending four new bodies to Israel.
The source added that the operation will take place today, Tuesday, at ten in the evening, according to Reuters.
This came while informed sources reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff worked to calm the atmosphere between the two parties, according to what was reported by “Israel Hayom”, in light of the tension witnessed in the past hours between Israel and the Hamas movement, due to the handover of bodies.
An Israeli official indicated to Axios that efforts had been monitored by Hamas to return the remains of detainees. However, he said at the same time, “The movement thought that we would be lenient in the return of the remains.”
The families of the Israeli detainees sent a letter to Witkoff urging him to act quickly to ensure the return of all the dead, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, an Israeli political official warned that failure to return the bodies of detainees may lead to the failure of the agreement.
For its part, Hamas confirmed that recovering the bodies of some Israeli detainees may take a long time, given that some burial places are unknown.
The movement’s spokesman, Hazem Qassem, stressed that Hamas is committed to all the details of the Gaza Agreement. But he explained in statements to Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath that the movement informed the mediators of the difficulty of handing over the bodies of the prisoners, adding that the mediating countries understood the matter.
In turn, the International Committee of the Red Cross explained earlier on Tuesday that recovering the bodies of some of the dead detainees may take a long time, given that some burial places are unknown.
Christian Cardone, spokesman for the committee, also said that handing over the remains of detainees and detainees who fell in the war on Gaza will take time, describing the matter as a “tremendous challenge” given the difficulty of finding bodies amid the rubble of Gaza.
It received 4 bodies belonging to Israeli detainees, out of 28 bodies who had been detained in the Palestinian Strip since October 7, 2023.
If 4 bodies were delivered today along with 4 yesterday, Monday, there would remain 20 bodies still in the Gaza Strip.
