Hamas on Monday called on international actors to pressure Israel to respect its Gaza ceasefire obligations, while reporting ongoing efforts to return the remains of Israeli hostages despite significant challenges from the destruction caused by the conflict.
Hamas "abides by all details of the ceasefire in Gaza, especially in the first phase by handing over all living captives at once," Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a press statement published on the group's Telegram channel.
"We are working daily to complete the handover of all the remains of the Israeli captives," Qassem said, noting that the process faces "major challenges because of the extensive destruction" in Gaza.
Hamas already released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 13 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement which took effect on Oct. 10, based on a phased plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Qassem accused Israel of deliberately bombing areas where hostages were kept during the war.
