Israel’s military said on Saturday that the three bodies handed over from Gaza via the Red Cross were not those of hostages held by Palestinian militants, according to reports from AFP.
A military spokesperson told AFP that forensic tests confirmed the remains were not of any of the 11 deceased captives still expected to be returned under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement . Another Israeli military official told AP that it was unclear who the individuals were or why their bodies were sent to Israel, adding that officials were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
The handover came a day after Israel returned 30 Palestinian bodies to Gaza, completing an exchange that followed Hamas’ earlier transfer of the remains of two hostages - a move initially seen as progress in the tense truce arrangement.
Since the ceasefire began on October 10, Hamas has released the 20 surviving hostages it had been holding and returned 17 bodies, including 15 Israelis, one Thai national and one Nepali, Israeli officials said.
Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the return of the remaining 11 bodies, while the Palestinian group says it needs time to locate remains buried under Gaza’s rubble after months of Israeli airstrikes.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, 225 Palestinian bodies have been returned by Israel since the truce took effect, but only 75 have been identified so far.
The fragile ceasefire faced a setback earlier this week when Israeli strikes across Gaza killed over 100 people, following the death of an Israeli soldier in Rafah and what Israel said was Hamas’ failure to comply with the terms of the deal.
A military spokesperson told AFP that forensic tests confirmed the remains were not of any of the 11 deceased captives still expected to be returned under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement . Another Israeli military official told AP that it was unclear who the individuals were or why their bodies were sent to Israel, adding that officials were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
The handover came a day after Israel returned 30 Palestinian bodies to Gaza, completing an exchange that followed Hamas’ earlier transfer of the remains of two hostages - a move initially seen as progress in the tense truce arrangement.
Since the ceasefire began on October 10, Hamas has released the 20 surviving hostages it had been holding and returned 17 bodies, including 15 Israelis, one Thai national and one Nepali, Israeli officials said.
Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the return of the remaining 11 bodies, while the Palestinian group says it needs time to locate remains buried under Gaza’s rubble after months of Israeli airstrikes.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, 225 Palestinian bodies have been returned by Israel since the truce took effect, but only 75 have been identified so far.
The fragile ceasefire faced a setback earlier this week when Israeli strikes across Gaza killed over 100 people, following the death of an Israeli soldier in Rafah and what Israel said was Hamas’ failure to comply with the terms of the deal.
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