Fury grows over deceased hostages: Hamas official says group to hand over bodies of hostages

A senior Hamas official told AFP that the group would hand over the remains of four to six hostages later Tuesday night as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal agreed with Israel.

"We informed the mediators that we will hand over four to six bodies of Israeli prisoners tonight," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the issue.

Another source close to the Hamas negotiating team confirmed the development.

By Tuesday evening, however, only eight of the 28 deceased hostages still in Gaza had been released by Hamas, adding anguish to many families who watched the country celebrate the return of the living captives as a great success.

Fury grows

Fury has been growing among the public – and the Israeli government – over how few of the deceased hostages had been returned by Hamas.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Hamas, stating that they must disarm or "we will disarm them."

These remarks come amid lingering uncertainty about the future path after the recent release of the final 20 living Israeli hostages, alongside the freeing of over 1,700 Palestinian detainees and 250 prisoners.

On Tuesday, the remains of four additional hostages arrived at the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv.

This brings the total number of deceased Israelis returned from Gaza since Monday to eight, out of a reported 28 in total.

Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations announced plans to scale up aid deliveries into Gaza.

However, Israeli authorities have indicated that the number of trucks allowed into the enclave will be reduced or delayed, citing the limited number of deceased hostages released so far, according to a UN spokesperson.