Jerusalem/Gaza, October 17: Israel received the remains of two more hostages from Hamas on Wednesday, hours after the Israeli military said that one of the bodies earlier returned under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was not that of a hostage, deepening confusion and mistrust in the fragile truce that has paused the two-year war.
The Israeli military said the two coffins, handed over by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), were being transferred for forensic identification. The handover came as part of a deal mediated under U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which calls for the release of all hostages — living and dead — in exchange for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.
The confusion arose after forensic testing showed that “the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages,” the military said in a statement. There was no immediate explanation for the mix-up, nor any information about whose body had been returned.
Israel has so far received the bodies of eight hostages since Monday, while 28 others are believed to remain in Gaza. In return, Israel released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees earlier this week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will not compromise” on the return of all hostages, demanding Hamas fulfil its obligations under the ceasefire. “We expect full compliance,” he said in a televised statement. U.S. President Trump, who brokered the truce, told CNN that Israel could resume its offensive if Hamas failed to uphold the agreement. “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word,” he said.
45 Palestinian bodies returned
The Gaza Health Ministry said Israel handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Wednesday, bringing to 90 the total returned since the ceasefire began. The ministry said many of the remains bore signs of mistreatment, including shackling, burns and apparent torture.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, forensic teams examined the remains, many of which were decomposed or missing limbs. Some arrived with their hands and feet cuffed, said Sameh Hamad, a member of the commission receiving the bodies.
“There are signs of torture and executions,” Hamad told The Associated Press, adding that some bodies had ropes or bands around their necks. Most of the dead were men aged between 25 and 70, he said.
The Health Ministry released photographs of 32 unidentified bodies to help families recognise missing relatives. Officials said Israeli restrictions on DNA testing equipment entering Gaza had forced morgues to rely on clothing and physical features for identification.
One woman, 52-year-old Rasmiya Qudeih, waited outside Nasser Hospital, hoping to find her son among the dead. He vanished during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 being taken hostage.
Hamas says it has complied
Hamas’s armed wing said it had honoured the ceasefire terms and returned all the remains it could recover. The group said efforts to locate additional bodies were complicated by the scale of destruction in Gaza and the presence of Israeli forces in some areas.
It is not the first time a misidentification has occurred. During an earlier truce in February, Hamas returned what it said were the bodies of Israeli woman Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, but one was later identified as a Palestinian woman. Bibas’s body was handed over a day later.
Aid convoys resume
The World Food Programme said its trucks resumed entering Gaza on Wednesday after a two-day pause caused by the hostage-prisoner exchange and a Jewish holiday. The Egyptian Red Crescent said about 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for the enclave. Israel’s defence body overseeing humanitarian affairs, COGAT, declined to say how many would be allowed to cross.
U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged both sides not to politicise aid. “Withholding assistance from civilians must never be used as a bargaining chip,” he said. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, with thousands more missing, many believed buried under rubble.
