Three bodies believed to be Israeli hostages were transferred from Gaza to Israel late Sunday night, marking the latest exchange of remains coordinated through the International Committee of the Red Cross. The handover occurred around 9 p.m., roughly an hour after Hamas claimed it would release the bodies at 8 p.m., according to reports from Gaza-based sources.
The bodies were delivered to Israeli officials at the Kerem Shalom crossing before being taken to the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.
According to Hamas reports, one of the bodies belongs to Colonel Asaf Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, and two other captives reportedly located by Hamas earlier in the day. Still, the identities or whether they indeed belong to hostages have not yet been confirmed. Hamami was killed in combat on October 7 during the Hamas assault on southern Israel.
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Sunday’s development followed several earlier claims by Hamas that it had recovered or returned remains of hostages held in Gaza. On Friday and Saturday, the group handed over partial remains to the Red Cross, but forensic analysis later showed they did not belong to any of the known hostages still missing.
Hamas stated over the weekend that it had offered three body samples to Israel for testing, describing them as belonging to “unidentified individuals.” The organization did not clarify how the remains were discovered or under what conditions they had been kept. Israeli officials have not commented publicly on Hamas’ statements.
Analysts in Israel view the repeated misidentifications as part of Hamas’s effort to prolong negotiations and maintain leverage in ongoing talks over hostages and ceasefire terms. The group’s shifting claims over the identities of the remains have deepened skepticism within Israel about its intentions.
The return of the bodies comes amid renewed mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas concerning the release of remaining captives and the withdrawal of armed groups from southern Gaza. While the Red Cross facilitated the handover, it provided no additional details regarding the condition of the remains or the coordination process.
Israeli authorities said forensic testing is underway and that families of missing hostages will be notified once identifications are confirmed.