Hamas has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to keep the Rafah border crossing closed constitutes a “blatant” violation of a ceasefire agreement and a “repudiation” of commitments made to mediators.
The Palestinian resistance group also said on Saturday that the closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza would cause significant delays in the handover of captive remains.
In a statement, the group said the continued closure "blocks the entry of specialised equipment needed to search for those missing under the rubble and prevents forensic teams and tools required to identify bodies," leading to "significant delays in the retrieval and transfer of remains"
Netanyahu’s office announced earlier that the crossing would remain closed “until further notice,” in violation of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“Netanyahu’s decision to prevent the reopening of the Rafah crossing until further notice constitutes a blatant breach of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made before mediators and guarantor parties,” Hamas said in a statement.
It accused Netanyahu of “inventing false pretexts to obstruct implementation of the agreement and evade his obligations.”
The group urged mediators and guarantor parties to act swiftly to pressure Israel to immediately reopen the crossing, comply with all terms of the agreement and end its ongoing crimes in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas handed over the bodies of two more Israeli captives to teams in Gaza from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and they were being transferred to the Israeli army.
“The bodies of two Israeli fatalities are now in the hands of the Red Cross and on their way to the army,” said Israel’s Channel 12.
Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 11 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.
The deal was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump.
Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
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Source: TRT