A Palestinian Arab source involved in negotiations for the return of hostages has said that the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is holding at least two of the four bodies of deceased hostages still in Gaza, Kan Reshet Bet reported.
According to the report, Islamic Jihad has thus far refused to transfer the bodies for return to Israel, but the source believes the terror group is nearing a breaking point on the matter.
In the past 24 hours, mediators have intensified pressure on Hamas to return the four kidnapped bodies and enable the next stage of the agreement, which includes Gaza’s reconstruction, to begin.
Turkey is reportedly leading the pressure campaign on Hamas, with the United States believed to be the main driving force behind the Turkish initiative.
Hamas continues to claim that it is having difficulty locating the four remaining bodies in the Gaza Strip: Police officer Ran Gvili, Meni Godard and Dror Or from Kibbutz Be’eri, and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was kidnapped from the Be’eri area.