TUNIS, October 28. /TASS/. Hamas blames delays in the process of the transfer of bodies of Israeli hostages who died in captivity in the Gaza Strip on Israel, according to senior Hamas official Suheil al-Hindi.

"We have done our utmost to return the remains and the occupation forces bear full responsibility for any delays as far as the transfer of the remaining bodies is concerned," he said in an interview with the Al Jazeera television channel.

According to al-Hindi, Hamas requested access to the Israel-controlled areas for search parties but received a refusal. "We are waiting for a permit for search teams to enter Rafah to search for the bodies of hostages," he said, adding that Hamas keeps on "requesting for a permit to use heavy machinery to retrieve the remaining bodies."

Earlier in the day, Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said that it had postponed the transfer of the remains of an Israeli hostage it planned to do on October 28 due to a ceasefire violation in the Gaza Strip by Israel.

Shortly before that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to deliver powerful strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to Israel’s Channel 12 television channel, the prime minister made this decision during a meeting with law enforcement bodies after armed radicals from the Hamas movement violated the ceasefire by delivering strikes on the Israeli military in the Rafah area, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Moreover, Netanyahu’s office reported earlier in the day that Israeli forensic experts had determined that the coffin delivered to Gaza on the evening of October 27 contained part of the remains of a hostage, whose body had already been returned nearly two years ago. Following the discovery, Israel accused the Palestinian movement Hamas of violating agreements on the transfer of the bodies and the Gaza ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. On October 13, Hamas and other Palestinian groups released all 20 living hostages and handed over the bodies of four deceased hostages under the Gaza ceasefire deal. The Israeli side expressed resentment that Hamas returned only four out of 28 bodies of deceased hostages. Later, Hamas transferred several more bodies to Israel. According to the Israeli side, radicals continue holding the remains of 13 hostages.