The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas does not correspond to any of the captives held by the militant group since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023. Following examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the military stated that Hamas must make efforts to return the deceased hostages.
The remains were transferred to Israel on Tuesday after the nation threatened to reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza due to Hamas’ alleged breach of the US-brokered ceasefire deal. While the fourth body is suspected to be Palestinian, the other three hostages were identified as Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Uriel Baruch, and Eitan Levy. The coffins were transferred to the Red Cross in northern Gaza Strip and then escorted by Israeli forces into Israel for forensic analysis.
As part of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the Gaza conflict, the two opposing factions exchanged the final 20 living Israeli hostages in Gaza for around 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. Trump declared a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” while addressing the Knesset on the same day.
The return of 28 deceased hostages has been a crucial aspect of the agreement to conclude over two years of hostilities that started with Hamas’ attacks on Israel in October 2023. Hamas has handed over eight coffins of deceased hostages, leaving at least 19 presumed dead and one still unaccounted for in the Gaza Strip.