Israel is beginning to pressure Hamas to release the 19 remaining hostages who were murdered in captivity. While the hostages who are still alive were returned on Monday, the terror group has delayed returning the bodies of murdered hostages, claiming they were no longer accessible in Gaza or that the groups who had held them have lost contact. The Times of Israel reports that after teams from the Red Cross and Egyptian government arrived in Gaza to locate the bodies, Israeli teams also entered in order to assist them.
The Israeli government told mediators that Hamas actually knows where a handful of the deceased hostages are and has access to them. A senior official said that there are at least 10 hostages that Hamas can return at the moment. It was also suggested that the opening of the Rafah Crossing be delayed as another way to pressure the terror group.
Overnight, the terror group said it would take time to return the remaining bodies, as they are allegedly buried in tunnels destroyed by Israel or under the rubble of buildings damaged in Israeli strikes.
Israel has insisted that while some bodies may be in this situation, Hamas currently holds others that it could easily return right away.
Amid disagreement between Israel and the US about how to approach the impasse, Netanyahu spoke with Trump by phone Thursday night.
Netanyahu updated Trump on the steps Israel plans to take in response to Hamas allegedly withholding bodies, and Trump expressed his support for the Israeli decision, according to the Israel Hayom daily.
Numerous search efforts from different teams are currently unfolding in Gaza. As Fellowship President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein said, this is the final stage of a war that began on October 7, and that peace will truly be achieved when all the hostages, living and dead, are returned to their homeland and families. Then, and only then, can the healing and rebuilding truly begin. We pray that this healing is able to begin soon.
