Israel says Hamas hands over '2 coffins of deceased hostages' from Gaza

CAIRO — Israel said Hamas handed over “two coffins of deceased hostages ” from Gaza late Saturday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu increased pressure on the militant group to share the rest more quickly under their ceasefire. No names were immediately released. The bodies were in Israel and were being taken to the country's National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Israel announced earlier Saturday that Gaza’s sole crossing with the outside world, Rafah, would stay closed “until further notice,” tying it to Hamas’ release of remains. On Thursday it had said the crossing likely would reopen Sunday. Hamas has now handed over the remains of 12 of the 28 dead hostages in Gaza, a key step in the week-old ceasefire process meant to end two years of war. The militant group says devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. The statement by Netanyahu ’s office on the Rafah crossing came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said it would reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza. Hamas called Netanyahu’s decision aWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times