Israel says the three bodies recently received from the Gaza Strip do not belong to hostages
Several Israelis wait for the convoy carrying the body of Oded Lifshitz, one of the Israeli hostages taken prisoner by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip during the October 7, 2023 attacks, after he was handed over by Hamas. Jack GUEZ / AFP / Profimedia
The three unidentified bodies from Gaza, handed over to Israel on Friday evening through the Red Cross, do not belong to the hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 by Hamas, an Israeli army spokesman told AFP on Saturday, News.ro notes.
A military source already stated on Friday evening, at the time of handing over the bodies, that he does not believe that they belong to the hostages.
The Palestinian Islamist movement has so far returned the remains of 17 of the 28 deceased hostages it agreed to hand over as part of an armistice agreement negotiated by the United States with Israel.
Among the 17 bodies returned are those of 15 Israelis, one Thai and one Nepalese.
Under the terms of the cease-fire agreement negotiated under the auspices of the United States, for every Israeli freed, Israel handed over 15 bodies of Palestinians killed during the war, for a total of 225.
After the ceasefire began, Hamas released the last 20 surviving hostages it was holding and began the process of returning the bodies of the deceased hostages.
Successive delays in handing over the hostages' bodies have angered the Israeli government, which has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement. And the families of the hostages have called for tougher measures to force the Palestinian group to abide by the deal.
Ten bodies of the October 7 hostages are said to still be in Gaza, as well as that of a soldier killed during a war in 2014. All the victims are Israeli, except for one Tanzanian and one Thai.
In parallel, twice since October 10, Israel has carried out massive bombings on Gaza, in retaliation for gunfire that killed three of its soldiers. On October 19, Israeli bombings killed at least 45, and on Tuesday 104, according to Palestinian sources.
Hamas, which denies firing on Israeli soldiers, has accused Israel of violating the truce.
