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

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From CBS News: 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 were being transferred to Israeli authorities, the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Security Agency said in a joint statement. The IDF said late Wednesday night local time that the coffins had entered Israel and were being taken to the National Centre for Forensic Medicine for identification.

“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.

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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. That means the remains of at least 19 hostages are still unaccounted for.

One U.S. senior advisor said it is believed that there are still many bodies buried under the mountains of rubble across Gaza and acknowledged, “It would have been almost impossible for Hamas to mobilize, even if they knew where all the 28 bodies were, to mobilize and get them home.”

The father of one missing hostage whose body has not yet been returned warned in a Fox News interview Thursday morning that if the remaining hostages’ bodies aren’t returned, the peace agreement is going to collapse.

Early Thursday morning, the IDF announced that the remains inside the last two coffins have now been identified:

IDF representatives informed the families of Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh that their loved ones have been brought back for burial.

According to the information and intelligence available to the IDF:
– Inbar Hayman, 27, was murdered by Hamas during the Oct. 7 Massacre and her body was taken into Gaza. Inbar was abducted from the Nova music festival, her death was pronounced on Dec. 15, 2023. She leaves behind her parents and brother.

– Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh, 39, from Sa’wa, served as a tracker in the IDF. He fell during the Oct. 7 Massacre, and his body was taken by Hamas into Gaza. His death was pronounced on June 24, 2024 and he leaves behind his parents, siblings, two wives, and 13 children.

The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families and continues to make every effort to return all hostages to their families for a proper and dignified burial.

Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial.

READ MORE from CBS News.

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