Israeli army says Red Cross received remains of 2 more hostages in Gaza

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli army said Wednesday evening that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had received the remains of two more Israeli hostages in Gaza and is transferring them to Israeli forces.

A military statement said that “two coffins of deceased hostages have been transferred into their custody and are on their way to IDF (army) and ISA (security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip."

Palestinian resistance group Hamas had earlier confirmed that it would hand over the remains of two more Israeli captives in Gaza on Wednesday night at 10 pm local time (1900GMT) under the new ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. Phase one of the deal came into force last Friday.

Under the deal, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.