Hamas hands over bodies of 2 captives to Red Cross as Israel delays Rafah crossing reopening

CAIRO – 19 October 2025: The Israeli army said late Saturday that the Red Cross had received coffins containing the bodies of two captives held in Gaza.

According to a post on X, the coffins were being transferred to Israeli army personnel and Shin Bet officers stationed in the enclave.

If Israeli forensic tests confirm the identities of the two bodies as those of captives, the total number of Israelis whose remains have been handed over by Hamas since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10 will rise to 12.

Hamas, which is believed to still hold the remains of sixteen captives after Saturday’s handover, has transferred the bodies in batches, attributing delays to the lack of specialized equipment and personnel.

While it has already released all 20 living captives and several bodies, Hamas said that “the remaining bodies require extensive efforts and specialized equipment to locate and recover them from under the rubble.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, meanwhile, maintained that Hamas knows the whereabouts of the deceased captives and warned in comments to Reuters that the group is “running out of time.”

His office announced on Saturday that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which had long served as a key passage for civilians and humanitarian aid, would remain closed “until further notice.”

It said the crossing’s reopening “will be considered in accordance with the manner in which Hamas implements its part in the return of the deceased hostages and the implementation of the agreed-upon framework.”

Responding to Netanyahu’s decision, Hamas warned that the continued Israeli closure of the Rafah crossing, along with the ban on the entry of specialized equipment and forensic teams, is delaying the retrieval and handover of bodies.

The anticipated reopening of the Rafah crossing comes under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which established the ceasefire and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel as part of the first phase.