Jerusalem: Israel has received the remains of three hostages from Hamas as part of an ongoing body exchange agreement under the current ceasefire, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Sunday.
The handover took place inside the Gaza Strip, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The remains will be transferred to the national forensic institute in Tel Aviv for formal identification. Families will be notified once the process is complete, the statement added.
If verified, eight hostages would still remain unaccounted for in Gaza, out of the 28 that Hamas is expected to return under the truce. In exchange, Israel is repatriating the bodies of 360 Palestinian militants killed during the conflict, according to Xinhua.
Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. One of the deceased was identified as Colonel Asaf Hamami, who was killed defending Kibbutz Nirim during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem described the handover as part of the group’s commitment to the exchange process and urged mediators to press Israel to fulfil its obligations under the ceasefire.
Despite the truce, Gaza health authorities report that Israeli war has killed at least 236 Palestinians and wounded 600 since October 11. The total death toll from Israeli strikes since October 7 stands at 68,865, the authorities said.
(Inputs from IANS)