Hamas handed over the remains of 4 other Israeli hostages

On Tuesday, Hamas handed over more remains of Israeli hostages, as part of a deal US-brokered deal The Israeli authorities said this was aimed at maintaining peace in Gaza.

Four coffins of the deceased hostages were transferred to the Red Cross and were on their way to the IDF and the Israeli General Security Service in the Gaza Strip, according to a joint statement issued by the IDF and Shin Bet, citing information provided by the Red Cross.

The statement said: “Hamas must abide by the agreement and take the necessary steps to return the hostages.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also confirmed in a statement late Tuesday night local time that the remains of the four hostages had been handed over.

Netanyahu’s office said that the remains “will be received in a military capacity by the Chief Military Rabbi,” after which they will be transferred to the National Forensic Medicine Center of the Israeli Ministry of Health for identification.

Netanyahu’s office said that once they are identified, the families of the victims will be notified.

The return of the hostages forms the cornerstone of the Gaza peace plan, which called on Hamas to hand over all remaining hostages – 20 alive and 28 dead – by Monday, October 13.

While Hamas returned the 20 hostages alive by Monday’s deadline, The remains of only four deceased Israeli prisoners They were delivered on Monday. With the handover of these hostages on Tuesday, Hamas has released the remains of the eight deceased hostages to Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said in a post on social media on Monday that Hamas’s return of only four bodies constitutes a “violation of the agreement,” adding that “any deliberate delay or avoidance will be considered a grave violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly.”

During the negotiations that led to the deal, Hamas representatives said they did not know the location of all the remains of the deceased hostages, according to Israeli media reports. President Trump also said in Egypt on Monday that not all the bodies of the deceased hostages have been found, adding that unidentified parties are still “working” on how to locate an unspecified number of remains.

Gal Hirsch, coordinator of hostage and missing persons affairs in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told CBS News last week that an international team would be formed to locate missing hostages in Gaza, but details about who would make up that team and when it might begin its work remained uncertain as of Tuesday.

The Forum of Hostages and Families of Missing Persons, which represents families of Israeli hostages, expressed outrage that not all bodies were returned and called on the United States to “leave no stone unturned in demanding that Hamas fulfill its side of the agreement and return all remaining hostages to their homeland.”

In exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages, the peace agreement stipulated that Israel would release about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners held by Israel. He also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from major cities in the Palestinian territories, which happened on Friday, and began a three-day deadline for the return of Israeli hostages.