Hamas to release bodies of four deceased hostages; hostage families say that’s not enough

Hamas plans to release Monday the bodies of four of the 28 dead Jewish hostages remaining in Gaza, the terrorist group said.

It is part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to end the two-year war in Gaza.

Hamas identified the hostages as Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, Bipin Joshi and Daniel Peretz. It did not say when it planned to transfer the bodies to the Red Cross or if the remaining 24 bodies would be released.

The death of Mr. Joshi, a Nepali agriculture student, had not been confirmed by Israel, but it had expressed “grave concern” about his fate.

Mr. Illouz was taken from the music festival Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023. He succumbed to his wounds in a Gaza hospital, apparently due to a lack of medical treatment. His death was confirmed in December 2023.

Mr. Perez, 22, a platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, was killed battling Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Mr. Sharabi, 53, the brother of freed hostage Eli Sharabi, was kidnapped from his home on Oct. 7, 2023, and slain in captivity.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents the families of those taken hostage by Hamas, accused the militant group of violating the ceasefire by only releasing four of the bodies.

“We expect Israel’s government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice,” the group said in a statement.

“The hostage families were shocked and dismayed to learn that only 4 bodies of deceased hostages will be returned today, out of 28 held by Hamas,” the group said. “This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas.”

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said Israel will not rest until all of the fallen hostages are returned and they “expect Hamas to abide by the terms of the agreement.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire, all remaining hostages, both alive and dead, had to be released within 72 hours of the truce being announced.

President Trump told reporters last week that finding the bodies of deceased hostages could be difficult.

“Actually, the bodies are a bigger problem because some of the bodies are going to be a little bit hard to find,” he said. “The situation with the bodies, you know, they say 20, 28, some are going to be a little bit hard to find. But we’re going to do the best we can.”