Israel announced that one of the four bodies received from Hamas on Tuesday, which the Palestinian militant organization claimed was a hostage taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, was not the remains of an Israeli hostage.
Israel’s military ran forensic tests on the remains and determined on Wednesday morning that ones of the bodies was not an Israeli, according to reports.
Hamas was supposed to deliver the remains of all hostages as part of the ceasefire deal. All bodies were supposed to be released within 72 hours after the fighting halted, according to the agreement’s terms. However, Hamas has not done so, releasing only seven of the 28 deceased Israeli victims.
The Israel Defense Forces posted a message on X announcing the finding.
“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,” read the social media post. “Hamas is required to make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages.”
The remains examined are believed to be those of a Palestinian from Gaza, according to reports.
On Tuesday, Hamas delivered the remains of four bodies to the Red Cross, which they identified as Israeli hostages, the Washington Examiner previously reported. It was the second group of four bodies that Hamas had released this week, with the original four being sent to Israel on Monday after all of the 20 remaining living hostages were freed from Hamas captivity.
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Israel identified the bodies of the three Israelis who were returned on Tuesday: Uriel Baruch, Eitan Levi, and Tamir Nimrodi. The remains were analyzed and identified by Israel’s National Center for Forensic Medicine.
“The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Baruch, Nimrodi and Levi families and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in a statement.
