UPDATE - Israeli army claims to have recovered bodies of 3 captives killed on Oct. 7

ADDS MORE DETAILS, CHANGES IN HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army on Friday claimed to have recovered bodies of three captives who were killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks from the Gaza Strip.

Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari in a statement identified the three Israelis as Yitzhak Gelernter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk.

He added that the bodies were recovered in an operation by the army and the country's internal security service, Shin Bet, but did not specify from where in the enclave they were recovered.

Hamas doubted the veracity of the claims, with Izzat Al-Rishq, member of the political bureau, saying: "We affirm our distrust in the [Israeli] occupation's narrative."

He said even if the Israeli allegation on recovering corpses of captives from Gaza was true, "after eight months of aggression and genocide, it is not an achievement, but an evidence on their [the Israeli army] weak performance."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the operation, and offered his condolences to the families.

The announcement came as Israel continues it onslaught on Gaza and has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians since the initial Hamas incursion that claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.

Under a deal in November, 105 hostages were released in return of a week-long truce and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.