The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said that one of the four bodies of hostages that it received from Hamas on Tuesday as part of the peace agreement does not match any of the hostages held by the Islamist militant group since the war started in October 2023.
Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday, following the first four on Monday, when the last 20 alive hostages were released. Israel was awaiting the return of the bodies of 28 deceased hostages.
The four coffins were handed over to the Red Cross at a meeting point in northern Gaza Strip. The coffins were escorted by Israeli forces. The coffins were then crossed the border into Israel before midnight and were being taken for forensic identification.
"Following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages," Israeli Defense Forces said on X.
"Hamas is required to make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages," they added.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire agreement, brokered US President Donald Trump, about the return of the hostages' bodies.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” Netanyahu said.
The return of 28 dead hostages has remained one of the final details to be worked out in the agreement to end more than two years of hostilities that began with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Hamas has now handed over eight coffins of deceased hostages, leaving at least 19 presumed dead and one unaccounted for still in the Gaza Strip.
