Israel receives 4 more hostage bodies, hands over remains of 45 Palestinians

Israel received the bodies of four hostages on Tuesday night after they were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas in Gaza, reported Xinhua.

The bodies were transferred to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet personnel inside the Gaza Strip, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. They were later transferred across the border into Israel under escort by Israeli forces, the military and Shin Bet said in an updated joint statement.

The remains are being taken to the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification. Unlike a similar handover on Monday, Hamas did not disclose the identities of the bodies in advance, and Israeli authorities said their identities remain unclear.

"After the identification process is completed, an official notification will be delivered to the families," Netanyahu's office said.

On Monday, Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages along with 20 surviving captives as part of a ceasefire deal under which Israel released about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

Israel said about 20 more bodies of hostages remain in Gaza and demanded that Hamas hand them over as well.

Meanwhile, Israel on Tuesday handed over the remains of 45 Palestinians to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which later transferred them to local authorities in the Gaza Strip as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal, medical sources said.

A Gaza-based health official told Xinhua that medical teams at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis received the remains through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

"Work is underway to identify the bodies through DNA testing before handing them over to their families," the official said.

In a brief statement, the ICRC confirmed that it supervised the handover process based on an agreement between the parties and in coordination with the relevant authorities, stressing that the operation was conducted in accordance with humanitarian standards applicable in such cases.

The ceasefire, which took effect on Friday, followed days of intensive negotiations in Egypt as part of broader understandings that include a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, a prisoner exchange, and the reopening of border crossings to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel decided on Tuesday to halt the reopening of the Rafah crossing and further reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza, as both sides traded accusations of violating the fragile ceasefire.

An Israeli government official, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said the Rafah crossing will remain closed and the entry of humanitarian aid will be "drastically" limited until Hamas returns all the bodies of the deceased hostages.