UNITED NATIONS, October 14. /TASS/. The United Nations calls on all parties in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to implement their commitments under the ceasefire agreement, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said, commenting on Israel’s decision to limit humanitarian deliveries to the Gaza Strip due to Hamas’ failure to return all the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages.
"We encourage all parties to adhere to the parameters and agreements set out in the ceasefire. We hope the remains of all deceased hostages will be returned and that the implementation of the ceasefire agreement will move forward," he said.
On the evening of October 13, four coffins containing the remains of hostages killed in Gaza were handed over to the Israeli side through Red Cross representatives. The Israeli side expressed resentment that Hamas has returned only four out of 28 bodies of deceased hostages. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of failing to implement its commitments under the deal and warned that any delay or deviation from fulfilling obligations will be deemed a gross violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and will entail an appropriate response.
According to the Ynet news portal, Israeli representatives consulted on this matter with the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. It says that during the talks in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, Hamas claimed that they knew whereabouts of the bodies of half of the deceased hostages. Hence, Israel expected to receive remains of up to 15 of its hostages after the ceasefire came into force.
Christian Cardon, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said earlier in the day that the return of the remains of Israeli hostages is a complicated process that make take "days or weeks."
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told the Al Hadath television channel that the group had notified the mediators about problems linked to this process and stressed that Hamas is committed to fulfil the agreement.