Hamas says it has handed over all Israeli hostage remains it could recover

Hamas said Wednesday it has handed over all the Israeli hostage remains in Gaza that it has been able to recover, and that extensive efforts and special equipment are required to find the remaining bodies.

The Red Cross said it received two more coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages, which are being transferred to Israeli authorities, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency said in a joint statement. 

“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages,” the IDF said in a statement.

The return of the hostages is a cornerstone of the Gaza peace plan, which called for Hamas to hand over all remaining hostages — 20 living and 28 dead — by Monday, Oct. 13.

Since the plan took effect last week, Hamas has been accused of delaying handing over the remains of Israeli hostages still believed to be in the Palestinian territory.

While Hamas returned the 20 living hostages by the Monday deadline, the remains of only four deceased Israeli captives were handed over. Hamas transferred an additional four bodies on Tuesday, but the IDF said one of them was not a hostage. 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post on Monday that Hamas’ initial return of only four bodies constituted “a violation of the agreement” and added that “any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a gross violation of the agreement and will be responded to accordingly.”

During negotiations that led to the deal, Hamas representatives said they did not know the location of all the remains of deceased hostages, according to Israeli media reports. President Trump also said in Egypt on Monday that not all of the bodies of the deceased hostages had been found, adding that unidentified parties were still “working out” how to locate an unspecified number of remains.

Both the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the group that represents the hostage families, and Israel’s defense minister have said the entire peace deal should be shelved until all of the hostages’ remains are returned by Hamas.

This is a developing story and will be updated.