The remains of three people handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas this week are not those of Israeli hostages, Israel said on Saturday. The latest development could undermine the US-brokered agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The remains were handed over to the Red Cross after Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday. Earlier this week, the extremists handed over the remains of two hostages, which was a sign that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement was moving towards an agreement.
The remains of three unidentified men were flown to Israel late Friday, where they were examined overnight. Another Israeli military official had warned that Israeli intelligence agencies had indicated that the remains did not belong to anyone taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Another Israeli military official confirmed on Saturday that these were not the remains of any hostages. It is unclear who these remains belong to or why they were returned to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Saturday that the remains did not belong to any hostage, though he did not provide any further details. Hamas’s armed wing said in a statement later that it had offered to hand over samples of an unidentified body on Friday, but Israel refused to accept them and demanded the remains for examination. It was not clear whose remains these were.
The total number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel since the ceasefire began has now reached 225, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Only 75 of these bodies have been identified by their families, according to the ministry. Meanwhile, Jordan’s foreign minister warned on Saturday that Israel’s military presence in the Gaza Strip was jeopardizing the ceasefire.
