Hamas transferred to Israel the remains of three individuals that do not belong to any of the 11 slain hostages still held by terrorist in Gaza, Israel’s broadcaster Channel 13 reported on Saturday.
The remains, which Red Cross intermediaries handed over to Israel overnight Friday, were examined by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir neighborhood.
The Israel Defense Forces says that at least two bodies of deceased captives can be recovered immediately by the terrorist organization, while Hamas may truly not know the whereabouts of three to five others.
“We ruled out the possibility that the remains returned last night are linked to any Israeli hostage,” an Israeli official told Ynet on Saturday.
“Specifically, this incident does not constitute a violation, since from the outset we assessed with low probability that the remains belonged to hostages. We prefer that Hamas hand over findings so we can verify them. That said, Hamas continues its fundamental violation—the failure to return the bodies of the fallen,” the official added.
According to the ceasefire terms, in cases of uncertainty, remains should be transferred to Israel for verification.
However, Jerusalem believes that Hamas is deliberately slow-walking the return of the deceased hostages to avoid its disarmament, which is set to take place in the second phase of the ceasefire deal with a deployment of an international force in the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the Islamist group is buying time to reassert its control over territory from which the IDF has withdrawn, so it will have greater bargaining power in future talks regarding Gaza’s reconstruction.
The 11 bodies held in the Gaza Strip belong to nine Israelis—Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, Sgt. Oz Daniel, Meny Godard, Lt. Hadar Goldin (whose remains were taken in 2014), Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili, Col. Asaf Hamami, Capt. Omer Neutra, Dror Or and Lior Rudaeff—Tanzanian agricultural intern Joshua Mollel and Thai agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak.
This past week, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine identified the remains of Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch and notified relatives that the bodies were returned for burial.
Cooper, whom Hamas terrorists kidnapped alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived, on Oct. 7, 2023, was killed in captivity at age 84. He leaves behind a wife, four children and 11 grandchildren, the IDF said.
Baruch was abducted alive from his Kibbutz Be’eri home on Oct. 7, and Hamas terrorists killed him in captivity on Dec. 8, 2023. He was 25. Baruch leaves behind parents and two brothers, the military said.
“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement,” it said.
“Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial,” it added.
