Frustration has set in Israel on Tuesday following the return of only a few of her dead hostages after welcoming the release of 20 surviving hostages from Gaza.
It had been expected that Hamas, the Islamist group holding the hostages, might not be able to release every one of the 28 deceased immediately on Monday.
However, Israeli government officials reacted with “shock and frustration” after only four coffins were delivered, the news portal Ynet said.
Israel had demanded progress on the issue by Tuesday evening at the latest, the Times of Israel reported, although there was no official confirmation of the deadline.
Hamas has also not issued a statement on the status of the handovers.
But sources close to the group said additional equipment and time were needed to recover the bodies from the heavily damaged Gaza Strip.
Israeli authorities did not appear to believe Hamas’s claims that it cannot locate or retrieve the dead.
Several Israeli media outlets reported that Israel suspects the group was holding the bodies as leverage for further negotiations.
Defence Minister, Israel Katz, accused Hamas on Monday of violating the ceasefire agreement and warned of unspecified consequences.
“Israel has fulfilled its part of the deal by releasing nearly 2,000 imprisoned Palestinians on Monday,” he noted.
Bereaved family members of the deceased hostages were criticising the Israeli government.
The Times of Israel reports that Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, called the government’s handling of negotiations with Hamas a “betrayal.”
She said officials failed to set an absolute deadline for the return of all bodies.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum have called for the “immediate suspension” of the deal with Hamas until every deceased hostage was returned from Gaza to Hamas.
Once returned, the dead must still be formally identified.
In a previous case, Hamas returned a false body, raising concerns about verification.
Under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, all hostages, living and dead were to be handed over on Monday
