Hostage Remains Delay: Israel Criticizes Hamas Amid Ongoing Tensions

Jerusalem, October 22 (AP) – Over the past two years, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 15 hostages held in Gaza, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement resulting from the Israel-Hamas war.

However, the return of the last 13 hostages' remains, as per the truce deal, has been sluggish, with militants only releasing one or two bodies every few days.

Hamas attributes the delay to challenges in reaching some remains, which they claim are buried under the rubble from Israel's extensive two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In response, Israel has criticized the militants for stalling and has threatened to either resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if the process is not expedited.

Last week, Hamas released the final 20 living hostages from their October 7, 2023, operation in southern Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being freed.

So far, Israel has returned the bodies of 165 Palestinians to Gaza, though details of their identities remain undisclosed. It is unclear whether they were killed in Israel during the October 7 attack, were Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody, or if they were bodies taken from Gaza during the war. The identification process has been complicated as Gaza's Health Ministry struggles without access to DNA kits.

Sahar Baruch, 25 – Sahar Baruch, from Kibbutz Be'eri, cherished science, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and fantasy literature. He was an avid chess competitor and was set to pursue an electrical engineering degree before being abducted. During his military service, he served as a mechanic. He was captive when the Israeli military reported he was killed during a rescue mission. His brother, Idan, perished in the attack.

Itay Chen, 19 – An Israeli American from Netanya, Itay Chen was taken along with two other members of his tank battalion. His father, Ruby Chen, engaged with US leaders to advocate for the hostages' return.

Amiram Cooper, 84 – One of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Amiram Cooper was an economist and author of poetry. Previously abducted along with his wife, Nurit, he appeared in a Hamas video under duress before being confirmed dead.

Oz Daniel, 19 – An Israeli soldier and gifted guitarist, Oz Daniel’s body was taken from his tank on October 7.

Meny Godard, 73 – Once a professional soccer player and Kibbutz Be'eri resident, he was killed after militants set his home ablaze.

Hadar Goldin, 23 – Hadar Goldin's remains have been held in Gaza since 2014, captured amid a war between Israel and Hamas.

Ran Gvili, 24 – Serving in an elite police unit, Ran Gvili was killed while aiding others at the Nova music festival.

Assaf Hamami, 41 – As a colonel and commander of the Israeli military's Southern Brigade, Hamami was killed in the early hours of October 7.

Joshua Loitu Mollel, 21 – A Tanzanian agricultural student, Joshua was in Israel for practical experience.

Omer Neutra, 21 – Originally from Long Island, New York, the Israeli American Omer was abducted with his tank crew.

Dror Or, 52 – A father of three and expert cheesemaker, Or managed the dairy farm on Kibbutz Be'eri.

Sudthisak Rinthalak – An agricultural worker from Thailand, Rinthalak was among 31 Thai workers kidnapped on October 7.

Lior Rudaeff, 61 – Born in Argentina, Rudaeff dedicated over 40 years as an ambulance driver in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.

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