Hamas postpones handover of hostage remains over Israel’s ceasefire violations

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Palestinian group Hamas said Tuesday that the planned handover of the body of an Israeli captive will be postponed due to Tel Aviv’s ceasefire violations.

“Any Israeli escalation will hinder search and excavation operations and the retrieval of bodies, which will delay the return of the occupiers’ dead,” the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned in a statement.

Hamas was planned to transfer the remains of an Israeli body at 8 pm local time (1800GMT) under the ceasefire deal, which took effect on Oct. 10.