Families of deceased Israeli hostages have written to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, urging him to demand that Hamas fulfil its obligation to return the bodies of their loved ones from Gaza. The appeal comes as only four of the 28 dead hostages stipulated in the ceasefire agreement have been handed over.
Mediators acknowledge that Hamas is struggling to locate all the bodies amid the rubble, but the Israeli government accuses the group of insufficient effort. Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, whose body was taken during the 7 October attacks, described the lack of progress as a betrayal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. “The struggle is not over until the last captive returns,” she said.
In their letter to Witkoff, the families wrote: “We ask you to pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned in demanding that Hamas fulfil their end of the agreement.” They referenced Witkoff's earlier promise to “dig with your own fingers to find our loved ones left behind.”
The Israeli government announced on Tuesday it would keep the Rafah crossing closed and reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza, a move seen as a response to the incomplete handover. The ceasefire deal had originally foreseen an increase in aid.
The International Committee of the Red Cross described the task of recovering bodies as a “massive challenge,” with spokesperson Christian Cardon noting it could take days or weeks, and some remains might never be found. Two of the four bodies received have been identified as Guy Illouz, 26, and Bipin Joshi, 23, a Nepalese student.
