The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation's "Kan" channel reported on Sunday evening that "the whereabouts of the bodies of four kidnapped individuals in Gaza are still unknown, despite ongoing field searches and the entry of Egyptian crews to assist in the search."
She noted that the Israeli occupation army had withdrawn from areas in Gaza in recent hours, allowing Hamas teams and international organizations to continue their search.
This move came "under pressure from mediators and (Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner), envoys of US President Donald Trump, to accelerate the transition to the 'second phase of the US plan,'" according to the commission.
"Suspension of plan implementation"
For its part, the Israeli Prisoners' Families Forum called on Monday for the suspension of the next phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza until Hamas hands over all remaining bodies.
"Hamas knows exactly where every one of the slain hostages it holds is located," the forum said in a statement. "Two weeks have passed since the deadline set in the agreement for the return of all 48 prisoners, yet 13 of them remain in Hamas's custody."
The statement read: "The families urge the Israeli government, the US administration, and the mediators not to move to the next stage of the agreement until Hamas fulfills all of its obligations and returns all prisoners to Israel."
On October 10, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect, in accordance with the Trump plan, whose country has supported Israel's war of extermination in Gaza.
On Sunday, Israeli Army Radio reported that Tel Aviv had allowed additional heavy equipment to enter Gaza from Egypt to intensify the search for the bodies of Israeli prisoners.
Al-Qahira News Channel quoted unnamed sources on Saturday as saying that "Egypt is providing logistical assistance and equipment to help locate the bodies of the Israeli detainees, given the devastation in the Gaza Strip."
While the Broadcasting Authority spoke about the bodies of four prisoners, it did not address the fate of the remaining prisoners, whom Hamas has not yet handed over.
Since October 13, Hamas has released the 20 living Israeli prisoners and handed over the bodies of 16 prisoners, leaving 12 to be released.
The movement asserts that it seeks to "close the file," and needs time to search for and retrieve the remaining bodies of the prisoners, in light of the massive destruction caused by the Israeli war of extermination since October 8, 2023.
This genocide left 68,519 Palestinian martyrs and 170,382 injured, most of them children and women. It also destroyed 90% of civilian infrastructure, with the cost of reconstruction estimated by the United Nations at approximately $70 billion.
