Israel accuses Hamas of deception after wrong bodies returned in hostage deal
Illustrative photo: Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip (Getty Images)
Israeli authorities accused Hamas of deception after three bodies handed over under a peace agreement were found not to belong to hostages, AP News reports.
Israeli officials said the bodies of three people transferred by Hamas to Red Cross representatives in Gaza were not those of Israeli hostages who died in captivity. The statement was made on November 1.
On October 31, Israel returned 30 bodies of dead Palestinians to Hamas. Earlier that week, the militants had handed over the bodies of two Israeli hostages. In total, 17 hostages' bodies were exchanged for 225 Palestinian bodies.
However, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that at least three of the bodies handed over by the militants did not belong to any hostages. It remains unclear who those people were.
Hamas claimed that on October 31, it had offered Israel samples collected from unidentified bodies, but Israel refused and asked instead for the remains to be transferred for examination.
"We handed the bodies over to stop the claims of Israel," Hamas representatives said.
The group also said that officials from the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip do not have access to DNA testing kits, making it impossible to determine the identities of the remains with certainty.
Peace agreement and body exchange
On October 13, US President Donald Trump signed a peace agreement with the leaders of three Middle Eastern countries concerning the Gaza Strip. Under the deal, Hamas pledged to release all hostages held since 2023.
The militant group also agreed to return the bodies of hostages who died in captivity. At least 28 hostages were reported dead, and 17 bodies have already been recovered. For each hostage's body, Hamas exchanges 15 bodies of Palestinian militants killed on or after October 7, 2023.
