Israeli officials pushing to secure return of more slain hostages from Gaza – Report

Israeli officials are reportedly engaged in urgent talks to increase the number of slain hostages whose bodies are to be returned from Gaza today, according to a report by Kan Public Broadcaster.

The discussions, involving members of Israel’s negotiation team and defense establishment, come amid growing frustration over what officials have described as Hamas’s failure to fully comply with the latest ceasefire terms.

DAILY POST had reported earlier in the day that the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said it had been informed that only four of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages would be repatriated to Israel, calling the development a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Israeli authorities have not confirmed the exact number of bodies expected to be returned, nor have they released the identities of the four hostages reportedly included in today’s transfer.

Hamas has claimed that it is facing “difficulties locating some of the bodies,” according to earlier statements.

Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog expressed solidarity with bereaved families in a post on X, writing that while the return of 20 living hostages from Gaza today is a moment of relief, “we do not for a moment forget the grieving families whose loved ones have not yet returned.”

“We will not rest and we will not be silent until we fulfill our sacred moral, Jewish, and human obligation, to bring back all our hostages,” Herzog said.

“Until every doubt is lifted and every family finds closure.”