Jerusalem, 19 October (H.S.): Israel on Saturday received two bodies that Hamas claims are those of deceased hostages, a transfer occurring amidst rising tensions over the slow pace of returns and Israel's decision to keep the vital Rafah border crossing closed.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed the remains were transferred via the Red Cross and will now undergo formal identification. If confirmed to be hostages, this brings the total number of deceased captives returned to 12, out of the 28 stipulated in the fragile, US-brokered ceasefire agreement that began last week.

The delay has provoked outrage in Israel. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has ordered the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to remain shut until further notice, explicitly linking its reopening to the return of all remaining hostage bodies.

Hamas has attributed the slow progress to the immense difficulty of locating remains under the rubble left by Israeli airstrikes, a task made harder by Israel's restrictions on allowing heavy machinery into the territory. The group criticized the continued closure of the Rafah crossing as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Under the terms of the deal, all 20 living hostages held by Hamas were returned to Israel. In exchange, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza. The agreement also involves the exchange of deceased individuals, with Israel having handed over the bodies of 135 Palestinians to Gaza so far.

The transfer on Saturday followed the formal identification on Friday of the tenth deceased hostage, Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who was killed on October 7, 2023. The conflict began on that day when Hamas-led attacks killed approximately 1,200 people in southern Israel and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, the death toll in the territory has since surpassed 68,000.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar