Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the bodies of three deceased hostages have been handed over from Gaza, as the ceasefire appears to hold.
“Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the coffins of 3 fallen hostages, which were handed over to an IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and ISA [Israel Security Agency] force inside the Gaza Strip,” a statement from the prime minister’s office read.
The statement said the bodies would be transferred to Israel, where they will receive a military ceremony, and then will be transferred to the Health Ministry National Center of Forensic Medicine. Families will be notified at the end of the identification process.
“All of the hostages’ families have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour. The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned,” the statement added.
Hamas said in an earlier statement that the remains were found in a tunnel in southern Gaza on Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
Before Sunday’s handover, the bodies of 11 deceased hostages were reportedly still in Gaza, after Hamas released the remains of 17 hostages since the ceasefire took effect early last month, according to the AP.
Hamas has released the bodies intermittently, which has threatened the shaky ceasefire, since Israel has urged the militant group to speed up the body retrieval. Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the remains of each hostage, the AP said.
Hamas officials have said widespread devastation and lack of access to DNA kits have slowed the process of returning the bodies.
