Netanyahu says war on Gaza not over until Hamas disarms

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that the war on Gaza would not be over until Hamas was disarmed and the Palestinian territory demilitarised.

His declaration came as Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over the remains of two further captives on Saturday night under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

The ‘Israeli’ military said late Saturday that a Red Cross team received the remains of two captives and the coffins were on their way to its security forces in Gaza.

The issue of the dead captives still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire.

‘Israel’ has linked the reopening of the key Rafah crossing to the territory to the recovery of the captives’ remains.

Netanyahu cautioned that completing the ceasefire's second phase was essential to ending the assault.

He said late Saturday that "Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.

"When that is successfully completed -- hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way -- then the war will end," he added in an appearance on right-wing Israeli Channel 14.

Hamas has so far resisted the idea and since the pause in fighting has moved to reassert its control over the Gaza Strip.

Rafah crossing closed

Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living captives, along with the remains of nine ‘Israelis’ and one Nepalese.

The most recent handover was on Friday night -- the body was identified by ‘Israel’ as Eliyahu Margalit.

In exchange, ‘Israel’ has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and 135 other bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect on October 10.

Hamas has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies, which it says are buried under Gaza's rubble.

The two bodies to be returned on Saturday "were recovered earlier today", the al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram.

Netanyahu on Saturday hinted that the reopening of the vital Rafah crossing to Egypt could depend on Hamas returning all the bodies of captives still in Gaza.

The Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the crossing could open as early as Monday, though only for Gazans living in Egypt who wished to return to the territory.

Shortly after, however, Netanyahu's office said he had "directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice".

"Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework," it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.

Hamas warned late Saturday that the closure of the Rafah crossing would cause "significant delays in the retrieval and transfer of remains".