Hamas announced Tuesday evening that it will release four additional deceased hostages at 10 p.m. local time. Earlier in the day, four other deceased hostages were returned to Israel.
Following an identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, together with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, the IDF notified the families of Guy Ilouz, Bipin Joshi, Yossi Sharabi and Daniel Peretz that their loved ones had been identified.
As most of the deceased hostages have yet to be returned to Israel, contrary to what was agreed upon, Israel decided to keep the Rafah crossing closed to traffic and to reduce the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Families of hostages and survivors of captivity are demanding that the Israeli government stop the implementation of further stages of the deal until Hamas fulfills its obligations in full, and returns all 24 deceased hostages still held in Gaza, including one woman.
The families are also calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to disclose the current understandings with Hamas and to freeze implementation of the deal until every hostage is brought home. "The people of Israel are witnessing the return of the same concept that led to the October 7 disaster. A nation that abandons its people and its fallen abandons its destiny. We will not allow history to repeat itself. There will be no victory and no renewal until they are all home, until every last hostage returns."
