Israel has stated that Hamas is aware of the locations of the hostages’ bodies and warned that time was running out for the group to act.

The Israeli military confirmed that the transfer of the bodies took place at approximately 1 a.m. local time (9 a.m. Saturday AEDT).

“Will Israel use Hamas’s inability to retrieve bodies from beneath the rubble as a reason to disrupt the ceasefire? This issue is causing concern within the international community,” a source stated.

On Friday, teams from the Red Cross and Palestinian rescue workers were engaged in efforts to recover the bodies of Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, Gaza. Source: Anadolu, Getty / Hani Alshaer

Earlier on Friday, Hamas urged mediators to facilitate the next phases of the ceasefire agreement. These include reopening the border, allowing aid to enter, initiating reconstruction, establishing an administration, and ensuring Israel’s withdrawal is completed.

The 20 living hostages taken with others in the October 7 attack on Israel were returned from Gaza earlier this week.

Israel on Thursday said it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to allow Palestinians to move in and out, but gave no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the ceasefire.

Other unresolved elements of the plan include the disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.

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