Hamas has informed mediators it will begin transferring bodies of four deceased Israeli hostages to Israel at 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, an official involved in the operation told Reuters.

Earlier, Israeli officials said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed at least through Wednesday and the flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave wouldl be reduced to put pressure on the militant group to hand over the bodies of the hostages it is holding.