Israel has received the remains of what Hamas earlier said were two deceased hostages held in Gaza. The remains were transferred to Israel via the Red Cross and will be taken to the country’s national forensics laboratory for identification.
If confirmed, that would leave the bodies of 11 deceased hostages remaining in Gaza.
“The effort to bring back our hostages continues uninterrupted and will not cease until the return of the last hostage,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The transfer of the remains comes just two days after Israel carried out punishing strikes in Gaza in response to the Hamas killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah on Tuesday afternoon. The Israeli strikes killed more than 100 Palestinians, including at least 46 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, marking by far the deadliest day in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect nearly three weeks ago.
Even so, Hamas and Israel said they were still committed to the US-brokered ceasefire agreement. The transfer of two more sets of remains from Hamas to Israel on Thursday marked the strongest indication yet that the deal had not collapsed, despite the severe test it faced just days earlier.
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