The remains of three people handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross this week don't belong to any of the hostages, Israel said Saturday, the latest development that could undermine the US-brokered agreement for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The handover followed Israel's return on Friday of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza. That completed an exchange after militants earlier this week turned over remains of two hostages, a sign that the tense Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement was edging forward.
The unidentified remains of the three people were returned late Friday to Israel, where they were being examined overnight. At the time, a military official warned that Israeli intelligence suggested they didn't belong to any of the hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war. A second Israeli military official confirmed on Saturday that they weren't of any hostages, followed by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The remains we received are not our hostages," the office said.
It was unclear who they might be and why they were returned to Israel. A Hamas spokesman didn't immediately answer calls and messages seeking a comment. Since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 17 hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years. But the process of returning the bodies of the 11 remaining hostages, as called for under the truce deal, is progressing slowly, with militants releasing just one or two bodies every few days.
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The total number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel since the ceasefire began now stands at 225. Only 75 of those have been identified by families, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. It's unclear if those returned were killed in Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war.
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