Israel has returned the remains of 45 Palestinians to Gaza on Monday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.
This brings the total number of bodies handed over under the ongoing ceasefire arrangement to 270.
The truce deal was brokered by US President Donald Trump. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel must return 15 Palestinians for every Israeli body it receives in exchange.
On Monday, Israel confirmed that the remains delivered by Hamas the previous day belonged to three Israeli hostages abducted on October 7, 2023. The October 7 attack by Palestinian militants triggered the current war.
The confirmed identities were American-Israeli Captain Omer Neutra, who was 21 at the time he was taken. Also identified were Corporal Oz Daniel, 19, and Colonel Assaf Hamami, 40. Hamami is the highest-ranking officer killed by Hamas.
Hamas’s armed wing stated that it found the remains earlier Sunday “along the route of one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip”.
When the ceasefire began on October 10, Hamas was holding 48 hostages in Gaza. This number included 20 people who were alive.
Since the truce started, Hamas has freed the 20 living hostages. It has also begun transferring the bodies of 28 captives who died.
Of those 28, the group has returned 20 so far. The returned remains include 18 Israelis, one Thai national, and one Nepali.
Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the return of bodies. Hamas has said the process is slow because many of the dead are buried under destroyed buildings and rubble in Gaza.
Hamas has repeatedly urged mediators and the Red Cross to supply equipment and personnel to help locate and recover the remains.