The Israeli military released a statement on the evening of the 21st, saying that the International Committee of the Red Cross received two bodies of detained Israeli personnel from Hamas in the Gaza Strip that day, and immediately handed them over to the Israeli military. Hamas had earlier also announced that it would hand over the bodies of two detained individuals later that day, but did not disclose the identities of the deceased.
According to arrangements in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement that took effect at the beginning of this month, Hamas has already released a total of 20 Israeli personnel in two batches as of the 13th, while Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as well as gradually handed over more than a hundred Palestinian bodies. However, Israel claims that Hamas has so far only handed over 16 bodies, and that one of them was in fact not a detained Israeli, criticizing Hamas for not fulfilling the agreement. Using this as a reason, Israel has indefinitely postponed the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which is crucial for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Hamas responded that some of the bodies were buried under rubble caused by Israeli airstrikes, and that the search process requires time and is hindered by a lack of heavy machinery and other resources, resulting in slow progress.
U.S. Vice President Vance visited Israel on the 21st, and at a press conference in Tel Aviv regarding this matter, stated that the handover of bodies is a "difficult task that cannot be completed overnight," noting that some of the bodies are still buried in the ruins and some are even missing, and emphasizing that "it will take time to accomplish this."
Vance also reiterated that the U.S. is "confident" in the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza, and emphasized that the U.S. will not send ground troops into Gaza but will continue to coordinate related efforts.