Remains returned by Hamas from Gaza not of Israeli hostages: Media

By Zein Khalil and Mohammad Sio

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) - The remains of three people handed over by Hamas to Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday night do not belong to Israeli hostages, local media said on Saturday.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, citing an unnamed Israeli source, said the remains “do not belong to any of the Israeli abductees.”

Army Radio confirmed that none of the remains “belonged to any of the hostages.”

The Red Cross transferred on Friday the remains of the three bodies to the National Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for examination.

No details were provided about the circumstances or conditions under which the handover took place.

Since the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement began on Oct. 10, Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 19 out of 28, most of them Israelis. However, Israel claimed that one of the received bodies did not match any of its listed captives.

Israel has killed 211 Palestinians and injured 597 others since the ceasefire, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel has tied the start of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire to the handover of all the hostage remains. Hamas says the process requires time due to the massive destruction in Gaza.

Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed more than 68,500 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.