Hamas announced on Wednesday that it has returned all the remains of deceased hostages it could access, coinciding with confirmation from the Israeli military that the Red Cross had taken delivery of two additional bodies in Gaza.
Under a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump, the militant group has released 20 surviving hostages since Monday in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli custody.
Before the latest handover, Hamas had already returned the remains of seven out of 28 confirmed deceased hostages, along with another body that Israel later determined was not that of a former captive.
In a statement released late Wednesday, the group’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fulfilled its side of the deal, transferring all living hostages and the corpses it could locate.
“The Resistance has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in its custody, as well as the corpses it could access,” the statement read. “As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file.”
The Israeli military confirmed that “two coffins of deceased hostages” had been received by the Red Cross and were being transferred to Israeli forces inside Gaza.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and security agency stressed, “Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages.”
Meanwhile, domestic pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to link humanitarian aid to progress on the recovery of hostages’ remains. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has already threatened to halt aid shipments to Gaza if Hamas fails to release the bodies of Israeli soldiers still held in the enclave.
What You Should Know
The latest exchanges mark a fragile phase in the ongoing ceasefire, with both sides navigating humanitarian and political pressures.
While Hamas claims it has met its obligations, Israel insists the group must continue efforts to recover all missing hostages. The developments highlight the complexity of the truce deal and the broader struggle over accountability and humanitarian access in Gaza.
