Hamas has delivered three coffins purported to hold the bodies of deceased hostages from Gaza, which Israel received through Red Cross mediation and transported across the border for official identification, according to Israeli military sources.
Should the remains be confirmed as those of hostages, eight Israeli and foreign nationals who died in captivity would still remain in Gaza.
The exchange is part of a US-mediated ceasefire agreement that began last month, under which Hamas committed to returning 20 living captives and 28 deceased hostages during the initial phase. Israel has criticized the pace of returns for deceased hostages, while Hamas maintains it continues working to retrieve bodies buried beneath rubble throughout the territory.
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military division, stated the remains were discovered Sunday morning in a tunnel system in southern Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying families of all hostages had been notified, adding that “our hearts are with them in this difficult hour” and pledging continued efforts until every hostage returns.
Ceasefire Tensions Continue
Both sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations. On Sunday, a man was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, with the Israeli military stating it targeted a militant threatening its forces.
Under the ceasefire’s first phase, all living Israeli hostages were freed on October 13 in return for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 Gaza detainees. Israel has returned 225 Palestinian bodies in exchange for 15 Israeli hostages’ remains returned by Hamas thus far, plus bodies of two foreign nationals—one Thai and one Nepalese.
Before Sunday’s transfer, nine of the 11 deceased hostages remaining in Gaza were Israeli citizens, with one Tanzanian and one Thai national. Nearly all deceased hostages still in Gaza were among 251 people kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people.
Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza has resulted in over 68,500 deaths, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
