Hamas, Israel
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Trump, Israel
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The return of Israeli hostages is a cornerstone of the Gaza peace plan, which called for Hamas to hand over all remaining hostages – 20 living and 28 dead – by Monday.
Israeli officials said Israel had decided to restrict aid and delay plans to open the southern border crossing to Egypt because Hamas had violated the ceasefire deal by failing to turnover the bodies of hostages who had died after being captured in Hamas's invasion of Israel in October 2023.
The release of the remains comes after Hamas faced widespread criticism and accusations of violating Trump’s peace deal.
The Israeli government is considering limits on aid to Gaza to penalize Hamas for not turning over more bodies of former hostages. But devastation in the enclave complicates the retrieval of all remains.
Israel will restrict aid into Gaza and delay plans to open the Rafah border crossing from Egypt at least until after Wednesday, reports say.
Hamas releases Israeli hostages, including Omri Miran, as twin brothers Ziv and Gali Berman are reunited under President Donald Trump's ceasefire deal.
The Israeli military said the Red Cross had received four coffins from Hamas and was on the way to hand over the remains to Israeli forces. On Tuesday, Hamas said Israel was killing people in Gaza and violating the ceasefire.
Medical teams at an Israeli hospital awaiting the arrival of hostages expected to be released from Gaza are "prepared for anything," Noa Eliakim Raz, head of the Returning Hostages Unit at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, told NBC News.