The Israel Defense Forces received two coffins, believed to contain remains of slain Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, from a Red Cross team inside Gaza on Thursday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
After being handed over to IDF troops inside the Strip, the bodies were transferred to Israeli territory, where they were received in a military ceremony with the participation of the IDF chief rabbi, per the PMO.
The remains were subsequently transferred to the Health Ministry’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv for identification.
“Upon completion of the identification process, formal notification will be delivered to their families,” according to the PMO statement. “All of the hostages’ families have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour. The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned.”
Earlier, the IDF announced that, “according to the information provided by the Red Cross, two coffins of deceased hostages were transferred into its custody, and are on their way to the IDF inside the Strip.”
“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages,” the IDF statement added.
Overnight on Monday, Hamas released more partial remains of an Israeli civilian whose body the IDF had already retrieved in a military operation in 2023, instead of releasing a 16th body.
The move “constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the Palestinian terror organization committed to handing over all 48 hostages—both living and deceased—on Oct. 13. While the 20 living captives were all freed that day, Hamas has been slow-walking the return of the 28 bodies.
So far, Hamas has returned only 15 bodies. Israel reportedly believes the terrorist organization can locate at least 10 of the 13 remaining bodies.
On Saturday, Trump urged Hamas to return the remains of the deceased hostages the terror group still holds over the following 48 hours or face action by “the other countries involved” in his truce agreement.
“Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly,” he wrote on Truth Social, “or the other countries involved in this great peace will take action.”
“Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and, for some reason, they are not. Perhaps it has to do with their disarming,” the president continued.
“When I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations,” he added. “Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”
A discussion between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives of the security establishment reportedly ended on Tuesday without any decisions on a response to the violations.
A senior Israeli official told Israel’s Channel 12 that the IDF presented a package of possible moves, including renewing the attacks on the Strip. However, Netanyahu was said to have noted that coordination with the Trump administration was needed to see what steps could be taken.
