Israeli military says Red Cross transferring four coffins with more remains of deceased hostages

Hamas hastened Tuesday to ease the pressure on a fragile ceasefire in its war with Israel by returning the bodies of more dead hostages after an Israeli military agency said it would slash aid deliveries to Gaza by half over concerns that the militant group was handing remains slower than agreed.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said late Tuesday that it handed over to Israeli authorities four deceased hostages "in line with the ceasefire agreement."

This latest transfer comes a day after Israel received the remains of another four hostages.

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The United Nations' humanitarian office in famine-stricken Gaza received word of the humanitarian aid cuts from the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory, according to spokesperson Olga Cherevko.

In its notification, the agency known as COGAT said it would allow 300 trucks a day instead of the 600 called for under the deal.

US officials were also notified, according to three Associated Press sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

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US President Donald Trump expressed concern in a social media post that too few of the dead hostages have been returned. He made no mention of Israel halving the flow of aid into the territory.

Trump also warned Hamas that if "they don't disarm, we will disarm them.

A day earlier, Israelis celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza and Palestinians rejoiced at Israel's release of some 2,000 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire's first phase.

Families of hostages express dismay

Hamas and the Red Cross have said that recovering the remains of dead hostages is a challenge because of Gaza's destruction, and Hamas told mediators of the deal that some are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.

The U.S.-proposed ceasefire plan called for all hostages living and dead to be handed over within 72 hours, meaning on Monday.

But it provided a mechanism if that didn't happen, saying Hamas should share information about deceased hostages and "exert maximum effort" to carry out the handover as soon as possible.

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Families of hostages and their supporters expressed dismay that only four of the 28 bodies were returned on Monday. The Hostages Family Forum, representing many families, called it a "blatant violation of the agreement by Hamas."

The top official in Israel coordinating the return of hostages and the missing, Gal Hirsch, told the families in a note that pressure was being applied on Hamas through mediators to expedite the process. A copy of the note was seen by the AP and its authenticity was confirmed by someone with knowledge of the statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed concern in a social media post that too few of the dead hostages have been returned. He made no mention of Israel halving the flow of aid into the territory.

Trump also warned Hamas that if "they don't disarm, we will disarm them."

Israel confirms identities of returned hostages

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the identity of the four dead hostages returned on Monday: Guy Illouz from Israel, Bipin Joshi from Nepal, Cpt. Daniel Peretz and Yossi Sharabi.

Illouz was abducted from a music festival, Joshi from a bomb shelter and Sharabi from Be'eri Kibbutz during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war.

Israel said Illouz died of his wounds without proper medical treatment, while Joshi was killed in the war's first months.

Families left waiting expressed concern.

Ela Haimi said she didn't know if the body of her husband, Tal, would be returned by Hamas in a few hours, days or ever. "I am afraid they will stop the return," she said. Tal Haimi was killed while defending his kibbutz during the 2023 attack.

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Long journey to recovery

The freed Israeli hostages were in medical care, and some families said it would be weeks before the men could go home.

Dalia Cusnir-Horn said brother-in-law Eitan Horn had lost more than 40% of his body weight after receiving very little food in the last few months. The physical toll was only part of the trauma, she said.

"He's just learning now … friends he knew that were murdered, and he had no clue how many people were kidnapped on that day and what this country went through, and it's overwhelming and it's hard," Cusnir-Horn said.

Moshe Levi spoke of brother-in-law Omri Miran's elation at playing with his young daughters — one less than a year old when her father was taken hostage.

"He could feel like he's a father again," Levi said.