Israel army says Gaza bodies received Friday not hostages

The Israeli military announced on Saturday that three bodies received from Gaza through the Red Cross on Friday were not those of hostages held in the Palestinian territory. Forensic analysis confirmed that the remains did not belong to any of the 11 deceased captives still expected to be returned under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement. Since the truce began on October 10, Hamas has returned 20 surviving hostages and initiated the process of repatriating the bodies of deceased captives. Among the 17 bodies already returned are 15 Israelis, one Thai national, and one Nepalese national. Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the return of the remaining bodies, while the Palestinian group claims the process is time-consuming due to the difficulty of locating remains buried in Gaza’s rubble.