Israeli military reports one body returned by Hamas is not a hostage
The Israeli military said Wednesday that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas on Tuesday as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of a hostage held in Gaza, heightening tensions over the fragile truce in the ongoing conflict.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported receiving 45 additional bodies of Palestinians from Israel, bringing the total transferred to 90. It remains unclear whether the deceased had died in Israeli custody or was taken from Gaza by Israeli forces.
Hamas had returned four bodies of hostages on Tuesday, following an earlier four on Monday, shortly after the release of the last 20 living hostages. Israel is still awaiting the return of the bodies of 28 deceased hostages. At the same time, Israel handed over the bodies of Palestinians under the ceasefire, a step awaited by many families in Gaza whose relatives went missing during the war.
The military said examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine confirmed that the fourth body handed over by Hamas does not match any of the hostages. No information was immediately available on whose body it was.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Hamas must comply fully with the ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. “We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” he said.
The ceasefire plan calls for all hostages, living and dead, to be handed over by a set deadline, which expired Monday. If that deadline is missed, Hamas is required to provide information on deceased hostages and make every effort to return them as soon as possible.
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a body incorrectly. During a previous ceasefire, the group handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, but one of the bodies was later identified as a Palestinian woman. Bibas’ body was returned the following day.
Hamas and the Red Cross say recovering the remains of deceased hostages is difficult due to widespread destruction in Gaza, and some bodies are in areas controlled by Israeli troops. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem stated on Telegram that the group is working to return the hostages’ bodies as agreed, while accusing Israel of violating the deal with recent shootings in Gaza City and Rafah.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military is enforcing deployment lines established under the agreement and warned that anyone approaching those lines will be targeted, as occurred on Tuesday with several militants.
Two of the deceased hostages whose bodies were returned were scheduled for burial Wednesday. One family invited the public to accompany the body along the road from a forensics institute to a cemetery north of Tel Aviv.
Humanitarian aid into Gaza has been delayed for the past two days due to the prisoner and hostage exchange on Monday and a Jewish holiday on Tuesday. The Egyptian Red Crescent reported 400 trucks carrying food, fuel, and medical supplies were set to enter Gaza on Wednesday amid ongoing disputes between Israel and Hamas over the slow return of the deceased hostages’ bodies.
COGAT, Israel’s defense body overseeing aid, notified organizations that only half of the 600 daily trucks called for under the ceasefire would be allowed entry, though it was unclear if this limitation would be enforced.
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