Israel refuses to reopen Rafah crossing as Hamas fails to return bodies of all hostages | World News

Egyptian Red Crecent members monitor trucks carrying humanitarian aid as they enter the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

A day after Hamas handed over all 20 living Israeli hostages, paving the way for the war in Gaza to end and the ceasefire deal to come into effect, the aid movement through the Rafah crossing has been affected. This comes after Israel refused to reopen the crossing, citing Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of all 28 hostages who died in their custody.

Only four bodies returned Hamas

Until Tuesday, Hamas has only handed over the remains of four captives, Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz and two other hostages whose identities have not yet been officially revealed yet, to Israeli authorities.
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A man walks past photographs of Israeli hostages who were held Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at the plaza known as hostages square, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

While Hamas had agreed to return the remains of all the dead hostages, there has been no set timeframe for the process to be completed.

Families of hostages appeal to Witkoff

This has angered the families of the dead hostages, who are now calling on Israel to pull out of the ceasefire deal, citing Hamas’s failure to uphold its part of the commitment.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Tuesday wrote to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, urging his intervention for the return of the 24 deceased hostages.

“Only four deceased hostages are coming home today. Only four families will be able to bring their loved ones to the dignified burial they so deserve and begin to find closure. How is this possible? How can we accept that the others remain behind?” the families said in the letter.

“We must ensure that all remaining hostages come home. We cannot rest, and we know you will not rest, until every last hostage is returned,” it said further.

“We ask you to pull out every stop and leave no stone unturned in demanding that Hamas fulfill their end of the agreement and bring all the remaining hostages home,” the families said.

Why the 24 hostages may never be returned

The 24 deceased hostages died at various stages of the two-year-long conflict and were buried in different parts of Gaza. Due to various factors, including the death of Hamas fighters who buried them and the destruction caused Israeli bombardment, locating them is a major challenge.

Massive challenge: Red Cross

On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross called the return of the dead hostages a “massive challenge,” given the difficulties of finding bodies amid Gaza’s rubble.

A masked Hamas gunman stands next to Red Cross vehicles arriving for the handover of Israeli hostages Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“That’s an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released. That’s a massive challenge,” ICRC spokesperson Chrian Cardon said, adding it could take days or weeks and that there was a possibility they would never be found.

Egyptian media on Tuesday reported that teams from the country, with the support of an Israeli technical team, are operating inside the Gaza Strip to recover the remains of Israeli hostages.

Israel refuses to reopen Rafah crossing

As the uncertainty over the return of the 24 hostages continues, Israel has decided not to reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Egyptian Red Crecent members monitor a truck carrying humanitarian aids as it enters the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

Under the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to open the Rafah crossing to allow the much-needed aid to enter Gaza.

Israel has also reduced the amount of aid flowing into Gaza as Israeli defence officials believe that Hamas has not made significant efforts to return the remaining bodies of the hostages.