This came after reports circulated on Tuesday, citing Hebrew media outlets, including Channel 13, that Israel had decided not to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday and to reduce the entry of humanitarian aid, citing Hamas' failure to hand over the remains of the remaining prisoners.
Under US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, the crossing was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, after the remains were handed over to Israel. However, the agreement noted difficulties in recovering the remains due to difficulties related to excavation and technical capabilities.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that "the Israeli army received four coffins of slain prisoners." The Israeli army announced shortly before that Red Cross crews had received the coffins of the four prisoners in the Gaza Strip, without revealing their identities.
He pointed out that "Hamas is required to fulfill the agreement and make every effort to return all the kidnapped individuals."
On Monday, Hamas released the 20 living Israeli prisoners and handed over the bodies of four, while saying it needed time to retrieve the bodies of 24 others.
On October 10, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement entered into force, in accordance with the Trump plan.
In return, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, in addition to 1,718 prisoners it had arrested from the Gaza Strip after October 8, 2023.
More than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, remain languishing in Israeli prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect. According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports, many of these prisoners have been killed.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 8, 2023, leaving 67,913 martyrs and 170,134 wounded, most of them children and women, and causing a famine that claimed the lives of 463 Palestinians, including 157 children.