The process of handing over the bodies of the hostages from Gaza is complicated by the scale of the destruction, not by the Palestinian Hamas movement's refusal to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement. The return of the bodies will take time, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty during a briefing held during his visit to New Delhi.
"We are still waiting for the transfer of the remains of the bodies of the hostages, because it is a very difficult process, not because Hamas does not fulfill its obligations, but because of logistical problems," he said.
"You cannot imagine the scale of destruction, debris and explosive devices on the ground. And this hinders efforts to find the bodies and return them to Israel," Abdel Ati added.
He noted that Egypt is cooperating with Hamas, as well as regional and international partners on the ground, "to find and hand over the bodies as quickly as possible, but this will take time."
