Israel: One body handed by Hamas not of hostage

AP Tel Aviv

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous day as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of one of the hostages who was held in Gaza, adding to tensions over a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war.

Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday to ease pressure on the fragile ceasefire, following the first four on Monday – when the last 20 living hostages were released. In all, Israel was awaiting the return of the bodies of 28 deceased hostages.

The military said that "following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages". Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded earlier on Wednesday that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal – introduced by US President Donald Trump – about the return of the hostages' bodies.

This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel. Earlier this year during a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons. However, testing showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman.

Bibas' body was returned a day later and positively identified. Hazem Kassem, a spokesperson for Hamas, said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday that the group was working to return the bodies of the hostages as agreed in the ceasefire deal. He accused Israel of violating the deal with shootings Tuesday in eastern Gaza City and the territory's southern city of Rafah.