Hamas handed over the partial remains of three bodies to Israel Friday night — but none belonged to any of the remaining hostages, Israeli officials said Saturday.
Experts at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv could not match the bodies to any of the 11 dead Israelis that the terrorist group is holding, sources told The Times of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Saturday that the remains of the three people did not belong to any hostages. It was unclear who the remains belonged to.
The partial remains had been handed over by the Red Cross, serving as an intermediary, before landing at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, where medical workers worked to identify them without DNA kits.
Chilling images show a line of white body bags arranged in rows at the medical center.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed it had offered Israel samples of the unidentified bodies it had found, but that “the enemy refused to receive the samples and requested to receive the bodies for examination.”
Hamas also claimed it was transferring the bodies in order “to counter the enemy’s” criticisms that the terror group was purposely stalling any handover and keeping remains hidden in the Gaza Strip.
The handover followed Israel’s return of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday, which completed an exchange after the terror group returned the bodies of economist Amiram Cooper, 84, and student Sahar Baruch, 25.
Cooper and his wife, Nurit, were kidnapped from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. He was killed in captivity in February 2024, with the IDF confirming his death in June 2024, the outlet said. His wife was freed later that October.
Baruch, an engineering student, was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and killed two months later during a failed rescue mission, the IDF said. The military’s “final conclusions” on their slayings would be revealed after the forensic exams, the Times of Israel reported.
For its part, Israel has returned the bodies of 225 Palestinians, only 75 of which have been identified by families, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The exchange of remains is part of the first phase of the historic Gaza cease-fire agreement, with Hamas being required to return all remaining 48 living and deceased hostages within 72 hours.
The terrorist group has handed over the 20 living Israeli captives, but only 17 of the 28 bodies. It is not clear whether Hamas plans to return, or has access to, the remaining 11.
Israel has long accused the terror group of knowing exactly where a majority of the bodies are located, claiming Hamas wants to use the slain hostages as leverage for further negotiations.
With Post Wires
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