Latest remains returned to Israel from Gaza are not bodies of hostages,
Israel says
[November 01, 2025]
By RENATA BRITO
JERUSALEM
(AP) — The remains of three people handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross
this week do not belong to any of the hostages, Israel said Saturday,
the latest development that could undermine the U.S.-brokered agreement
for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The
handover followed Israel’s return on Friday of the bodies of 30
Palestinians to Gaza. That completed an exchange after militants earlier
this week turned over remains of two hostages, a sign that the tense
Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement was edging forward.
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Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of two people believed to be
deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the
Kissufim border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli
authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 30,
2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) |
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The unidentified remains of the three people were returned late
Friday to Israel, where they were being examined overnight. At
the time, a military official warned that Israeli intelligence
suggested they did not belong to any of the hostages taken by
Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern
Israel that sparked the war.
A second Israeli military official confirmed on Saturday that
they were not of any hostages, followed by the office of Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The remains we received are not our hostages,” the office said.
It was unclear who they might be and why they were returned to
Israel. The two Israeli officials spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
A Hamas spokesman did not immediately answer calls and messages
seeking a comment.
Since the U.S. brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took
effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the
remains of 17 hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two
years.
But the process of returning the bodies of the last 11 remaining
hostages, as called for under the truce deal, is progressing
slowly, with militants releasing just one or two bodies every
few days.
The total number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel since
the ceasefire began now stands at 225. Only 75 of those have
been identified by families, according to Gaza’s Health
Ministry. It is unclear if those returned were killed in Israel
during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, whether they died in Israeli
custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops
during the war.
The fragile truce faced its biggest challenge earlier this week
when Israel carried out strikes across Gaza that killed more
than 100 people, following the killing of an Israeli soldier in
Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, and the incomplete return of
hostages.
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