Release date
The Red Cross said late Friday that the three unidentified bodies had been transferred to Israel, where they are still being examined by Israeli forensic experts. Israeli military personnel say the bodies may not be those of the missing hostages.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the bodies had previously been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The handover follows Israel’s return of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza authorities on Friday. Insurgents handed over the remains of the two hostages, completing the exchange and showing that the tense Israeli-Hamas ceasefire agreement is slowly moving forward.
The exchange took place despite Israel’s attack on Gaza this week, which left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Israeli officials said the air raid on the enclave came after Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza were killed in clashes and skirmishes.
The bodies were also transported through the Red Cross. The return of the Palestinian body was confirmed by a doctor at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, and medical workers were busy trying to identify the body.
Photos showed Palestinian bodies lined up in white body bags on the grounds of Nasser Hospital. Health authorities in Gaza are struggling to identify the bodies because DNA kits are not available.
Extradition brings the number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to 225 since a fragile US-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, only 75 of the bodies have been identified by their families.
It is unclear whether the returnees were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led offensive on October 7, 2023, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were retrieved from Gaza by the military during the war.
Munir al-Burush, head of Gaza’s health ministry, said in a social media post that the returned bodies were “torn apart and exhumed.”
“Their flesh melted, their faces were extinguished with fire, and all that remained were bones and teeth,” he added.
The Israeli military has previously maintained that all the bodies returned so far were those of Hamas fighters. The military said it was acting in accordance with international law. The families of the bodies that have been identified claim that they were not.
Hamas has returned the remains of the 17 dead hostages, as well as all 20 living hostages since the start of the ceasefire. The remaining 11 are still in Gaza and must be extradited under the terms of an agreement proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Israel said nine of the remaining dead hostages were Israeli nationals, while the other two were workers from Thailand and Tanzania.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume fighting if the bodies are not returned quickly. Hamas was required on Monday, October 13, to hand over all remaining hostages, both living and dead.
But the Gaza-based group said it would take time as most of the hostages’ bodies were buried under heavy rubble and required extensive excavation work.
The group has also repeatedly appealed for heavy equipment to retrieve and hand over the bodies, but Israel has refused to provide such equipment.
Hamas has also accused Israel of more than 50 violations of the ceasefire, ranging from firing on Palestinians, supporting armed rebels to incite chaos and restricting aid, and has called on the international community to ensure Israel abides by the terms of the deal.
Additional sources of information • AP