Israel receives two more bodies of hostages from Hamas under Gaza truce

Under the current truce arrangement, Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, and returned 15 bodies of Palestinians for every Israeli hostage’s remains.

Israel has received the bodies of two more hostages who were being held in Gaza, according to a report by the BBC. Hamas said the remains belong to two deceased Israeli hostages, and they were handed over to the Red Cross before being transferred to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The IDF confirmed that the two coffins were delivered to its troops in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday and later brought into Israel under military escort. The bodies will now be taken to Tel Aviv for formal identification.

The Israeli military urged the public to “act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families of the hostages.” It also called on Hamas to fully comply with the truce terms and “take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.”

According to the BBC report, if confirmed, this transfer would mean Hamas has now returned 15 of the 28 deceased Israeli hostages under the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement. All 20 living hostages covered by the deal were released earlier this month.

Hamas had previously returned a Palestinian body by mistake in an earlier exchange, reportedly due to difficulties identifying remains beneath the rubble caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. The group has since claimed that similar challenges are delaying the recovery of the remaining hostages’ bodies.

Under the current truce arrangement, Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, and returned 15 bodies of Palestinians for every Israeli hostage’s remains. The deal has also allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza and prompted a limited withdrawal of Israeli forces, although sporadic fighting has continued amid mutual accusations of violating the ceasefire.

The ongoing conflict began after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. In retaliation, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza that has since killed more than 68,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered credible by the United Nations.