JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel announced Sunday that the remains of three hostages have been transferred from Gaza and will be examined by forensic experts as a fragile month-long ceasefire holds.
Hamas said in a statement earlier that the remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 17 hostages, 11 of whom remained in the Gaza Strip, before Sunday's handover.
The militants released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has called for faster progress and in some cases said the remains were not hostages. Hamas said the work was complicated by widespread destruction.
The Israeli military said formal identification of the remains would be given to the families first.
Emotions surrounding the remains were strong among families who continue to gather weekly. On Saturday evening, Moran Harari, a friend of the late Carmel Gat, called on Israel to show restraint.
“This damn war has claimed so many dear lives on both sides of the fence. We must not fall into it again this time,” Harari said during a rally in Jerusalem.
Israel, in turn, released the remains of 15 Palestinians in exchange for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, according to Gaza's health ministry, which released photographs of the remains in the hope families would identify them.
It is unclear whether the returning Palestinians were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were removed from the Gaza Strip by troops during the war.
This exchange was a central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan to secure Gaza's borders and enforce a ceasefire.
Many countries have expressed interest in participating in the peacekeeping force, but have called for a clear UN Security Council mandate before committing troops.
Other difficult issues include disarmament of Hamas and governance of post-war Gaza, and when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday that “there are still pockets of Hamas” in parts of the Gaza Strip controlled by Israeli forces.
“In fact, there are two of them in Rafah and Khan Yunis, and they will be eliminated,” Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting.
The deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas began with a Hamas attack in 2023 that killed nearly 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage.
Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 68,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records that independent experts consider generally reliable.
Israel, which has rejected accusations by a U.N. commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, disputed the ministry's tally without giving conflicting casualty figures.
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