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Israel received the remains of two deceased hostages, which were handed over by the Red Cross to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the prime minister’s office said Thursday.
They bodies were handed over inside the Gaza Strip and will be received in Israel in a military ceremony with the participation of the IDF’s chief rabbi, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a post on X.
The identities of the deceased hostages have not been revealed and Israeli authorities have requested that “the public act with sensitivity” and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families.
The handover came hours after Hamas’s armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said it “will hand over the bodies of two Israeli prisoners” in a message on its Telegram channel.
Militants have so far handed back the remains of 15 of the 28 bodies Hamas had agreed to return under the deal. If these bodies’ identities are confirmed, it will bring the total to 17, with 11 yet to be returned.
Under the US-backed ceasefire accord, Hamas released all living hostages captured in the October 7, 2023 attack in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops, halted its offensive and increased aid into the enclave.
Israel says Hamas has been too slow to hand over the remaining bodies of hostages still in Gaza. Hamas says it will take time to locate and retrieve all of the remains.
The handover came as Israeli planes and tanks pounded areas in eastern Gaza on Thursday, Palestinian residents and witnesses said, a day after Israel said it remained committed to a US-backed ceasefire despite launching more lethal bombardments in the territory.
Read moreIsrael launches air strikes on Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating ceasefire
Witnesses said Israeli planes carried out 10 airstrikes in areas east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while tanks shelled areas east of Gaza City in the north. No injuries or deaths were reported.
The Israeli military said it carried out “precise” strikes against “terrorist infrastructure that posed a threat to the troops” in the areas, which Israel still occupies.
The strikes were the latest test of the fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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