The three unidentified bodies from Gaza, delivered to Israel on Friday afternoon through the Red Cross, are not those of the hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 by Hamas, a spokesman for the Israeli army told AFP this Saturday, October 31.
A military source had already indicated on Friday afternoon, when the bodies were handed over, that they did not believe they were the bodies of hostages.
The Palestinian Islamist movement has so far returned the remains of 17 of the 28 deceased hostages it agreed to hand over as part of a truce deal with Israel brokered by the United States.
Among the 17 remains returned are those of 15 Israelis, one Thai and one Nepalese.
Under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, for every Israeli who surrendered, Israel handed over 15 bodies of Palestinians who died during the war, for a total of 225.
Ten hostage bodies still in Gaza
After the ceasefire began, Hamas released the last 20 surviving hostages it still held and began the process of returning the bodies of the deceased hostages.
The successive delays in the delivery of the hostages’ bodies angered the Israeli government, which accused Hamas of violating the truce agreement. And the hostages’ families demanded tougher measures to force the Palestinian group to comply with the agreement.
Ten bodies of hostages from October 7, as well as that of a soldier who died during a war in 2014, are believed to still be found in Gaza. All of the victims are Israelis, except for one Tanzanian and one Thai.
At the same time, on two occasions since October 10, Israel has carried out massive bombings in Gaza in retaliation for gunfire that killed three of its soldiers. On October 19, Israeli bombings left at least 45 dead and on Tuesday 104, according to Palestinian sources.
Hamas, which denies shooting at Israeli soldiers, has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.
Source: BFM TV
