Israel says the latest remains returned from Gaza by Hamas are not of hostages

The remains of three people Hamas handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza do not belong to any hostages, Israel said Saturday, in the latest setback to the US-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The handover followed Israel’s return on Friday of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, which completed an exchange after the Palestinian group turned over remains of two hostages earlier in the week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the remains of the three people did not belong to hostages. It was unclear who the remains belonged to.

Hamas' armed wing said it had offered to hand over samples on Friday of unidentified bodies but Israel refused and asked for the remains for examination.

"We handed the bodies over to stop the claims of Israel," the statement said. Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits.

The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army strike are brought after being handed over by Israel to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Friday. AP

Families and supporters rallied once again on Saturday night to call for the return of all hostages. While Yael Adar, mother of the late Tamir Adar, asserted to a rally in Tel Aviv that "the Hamas scum are mocking us,” Moran Harari, friend of the late Carmel Gat, urged Israel to have restraint during a rally in Jerusalem.

"This cursed war has taken so many lives of dear people on both sides of the fence. This time, we must not fall into it again,” Harari said.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian fighters have released the remains of 17 hostages. Eleven remain in Gaza. Fighters have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation and Israeli military presence in some areas.

Israel has been releasing the unidentified remains of 15 Palestinians for the remains of each Israeli hostage. The number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel since the ceasefire began now stands at 225. Only 75 have been identified by families, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

It is unclear if those returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war.

Employees of the Nasser Medical Complex move body bags of the thirty bodies of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and released as part of the hostage exchange deal, as they arrive in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. AFP

The fragile truce faced its biggest challenge earlier this week when Israel carried out strikes across Gaza that killed more than 100 people, following the killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city.

Jordan’s foreign minister warned Saturday that Israel maintaining a military presence in Gaza puts the ceasefire at risk.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security summit, Ayman Safadi added it was "imperative” to have a Palestinian police force maintaining security, supported by an international stabilization force with a UN Security Council mandate.

"With Israel staying in Gaza, I think security is going to be a challenge,” Safadi said. "Israel cannot stay in 53% of Gaza and then expect security to be achieved.”

The 20-point US peace plan includes the formation and deployment of a temporary international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza's borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected. The US has ruled out American soldiers in Gaza.

The visiting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, met with Israeli officials on Saturday.

Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force but called for a clear UN mandate before committing troops.

Other difficult questions include Hamas' disarmament and the governance of a postwar Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has offered thousands of troops for Gaza.

"But details, or the term of reference for that matter, remain unclear,” Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said earlier in the week.

"There has to be a mandate from the UNSC, which we hope will be issued. There has been no discussions so far, and we’re far from settling any details,” he added.

Indonesian officials also have called for an independent Palestinian state but underscored the need to "recognize and guarantee the safety and security of Israel.”

The deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas began with the Hamas-led 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 68,600 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

Israel, which has denied accusations by a UN commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry's figures without providing a contradicting toll.

Associated Press