Israel confirms bodies returned by Hamas under Gaza ceasefire deal belong to soldiers

The Israeli army confirmed Monday that the remains of three people returned by Hamas under a ceasefire deal a day earlier belonged to soldiers.

A military statement said the bodies belonged to Colonel Assaf Hamami, Captain Omer Maxim Netura and Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel. All were killed near the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas handed over the remains of the three soldiers to the Red Cross late Sunday under the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10 as part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza plan.

Hamas has so far released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 21 out of 28 deceased captives, most of them Israelis, according to the group. Israel, however, claimed that one of the bodies received did not match any of its missing captives.

Israel has tied the start of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire to the handover of all the hostage remains. Hamas says the process requires time due to the massive destruction in Gaza.

Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.