Rotem Cooper, who is the son of one of the 20 Israeli hostages whose bodies are still to be returned by Hamas, has accused the group of “playing games” despite the signed ceasefire deal stipulating that all must be released. His parents were kidnapped in the 7 October 2023 attacks and although his mother was released later that month, his father Amiram was killed in captivity. 

The agreement, which came into force on Monday 13 October, raised the hopes of Mr Cooper and all the other families of those who lost their lives, that they would get their loved ones bodies back to allow them to have a dignified burial. All 20 living hostages were indeed returned, but the remains of only eight of the dead have so far come home, prompting Mr Cooper to call on US President Donald Trump – who somewhat over-confidently declared the peace deal as the “historic dawn of a new Middle East” – along with other countries involved in the negotiations to “show Hamas that this is not acceptable”.

“We are trying to find the strength somehow to pick ourselves up and continue the fight,” Mr Cooper said, adding that there now was a realisation that it is not over and it’s going to be a longer battle. “It’s clear to us that they could have and should have released more and they’re playing games,” was his angry assessment of the situation.

It is believed that some of the remains may have been buried under mountains of rubble from destroyed buildings, but the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of many of the hostages, have called for “a very serious response” from the Israeli government and mediators, for what is described as Hamas’ “violation of the agreement”. For their part Israel’s decision-makers have said they will not reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt for the much needed flow of aid into the territory – which they were due to do on Wednesday 15th – until the remaining bodies are returned.

President Trump has not commented, but after initially declaring: “Generations from now this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better” he continued to dismiss scepticism over the ceasefire, which expert commentators regard as very weak. When challenged regarding Hamas’ apparent refusal to lay down its weapons, which they have been ordered to do as part of the deal, Mr Trump’s response was direct and to the point: “They’re going to disarm, because they said they would disarm, and if they don’t disarm we will disarm them.” Were that threat to become a reality, then the situation will suddenly enter another very worrying phase.