Israel has received the bodies of four hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, as pressure grows on the group to locate the remaining victims as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
After all 20 remaining living Israelis kidnapped two years ago were returned on Monday, attention has turned to the victims who have died in captivity.
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Of the 28 dead hostages, only eight have so far been returned. The four returned late on Tuesday, via the Red Cross, are yet to be formally identified.
The four handed over by Hamas on Monday are Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Peretz.
Sky’s Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons said it’s “clear Hamas doesn’t know where all these bodies are”, with fears they could be under rubble in parts of Gaza devastated by Israel’s two-year bombardment.
Some of the fighters who had been guarding them have been killed.
The bodies of Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illouz, Daniel Peretz and Bipin Joshi were returned to Israel. Pic: Bring Them Home Now/Reuters
The return of all the hostages, living and dead, is a key pillar of the deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas, heralded by US President Donald Trump as having brought “peace in the Middle East”.
Israel – which has freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners – said it would keep the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed on Wednesday, and limit aid entering Gaza, due to Hamas’s failure to return all the dead.
Hostage families have urged their government to “finish the job” and get the remaining bodies home.
Two far-right ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, said Israel should limit aid and use “military pressure” to ensure their return.
