The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Monday that they had brought the coffins of four deceased hostages into Israel from Gaza.
The bodies have not yet been identified forensically.
“Four coffins of deceased hostages, escorted by IDF and ISA forces, crossed the border into the State of Israel a short while ago and are on their way to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out,” the security services stated. “IDF representatives are accompanying the families.”
Before the crossing was completed, the IDF held a “military protocol” in Gaza in memory of the dead.
“During the protocol, IDF soldiers will drape the hostages’ coffins with Israeli flags, salute them and recite a chapter from the book of Psalms,” the agency stated.
Hamas has misidentified remains that it has handed over in past ceasefire deals. If the terrorist group has handed over the correct bodies, 24 deceased hostages now remain in Gaza.
Earlier on Monday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated that Hamas’s failure to return all of the deceased was a “blatant breach” of the ceasefire agreement.
