The Palestinian group Hamas handed over the remains of three hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday evening under a ceasefire accord, the Israeli army has confirmed.
A military statement said the coffins were transferred to the Red Cross and were on their way to Israeli troops inside the Gaza Strip.
Hamas earlier announced that it would hand over the bodies of three captives it had recovered from under the rubble.
Hamas had released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 19 out of 28, most of them Israelis, since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. Israel, however, claimed that one of the received bodies did not match any of its listed captives.
Israel has tied the start of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire to the handover of all the hostage remains. Hamas says the process requires time due to the massive destruction in Gaza.
Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Israel has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.
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