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One of the bodies handed over by Hamas on Tuesday was not of a hostage held in Gaza since 7 October 2023 attacks, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.
The botched exchange, which happened as part of phase one of a US-brokered peace deal, threatens to increase tensions over the fragile truce, which came into effect earlier this week, bringing an end to two years of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Monday, just hours after the last of the 20 living hostages was released. Four further bodies were also returned on Monday, as per the terms of the agreement, which demands that the remains of all 28 deceased hostages be handed over to Israel.
“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,” the Israeli military said. There was no immediate word on whose body it was.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded on Wednesday that Hamas fulfil the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal — introduced by US President Donald Trump — about the return of the remains of deceased hostages.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” he said.
The deal – Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan – stipulated that all 20 living and 28 deceased hostages be returned to Israel by Monday. Hamas has said previously that more time was needed to retrieve the bodies, claiming that some of the hostages’ remains were buried under rubble.
The deal, however, also included a term that if Hamas was unable to return the deceased hostages by the deadline, the group was to share information about them and try to hand all of them over as soon as possible.
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel. During a previous ceasefire in January, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons.
Testing showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman. Bibas’ body was returned a day later and was confirmed by Israeli officials with a positive DNA identification.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem said on Telegram on Wednesday that the group was working to return the bodies of the hostages as agreed in the ceasefire deal.
Meanwhile, more aid is continuing to enter the Strip to replenish its two million population of basic food and necessities, which it had been deprived of for months after Israel moved to limit the flow of aid, an action slammed by humanitarian organisations as a war crime.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for Gaza on Wednesday, which is still below the pre-war levels of 600 trucks a day.
The Israeli defence body overseeing humanitarian aid operations in Gaza, COGAT, notified the responsible agencies that it would only permit passage to 300 trucks a day, which is half of the amount stipulated in the deal.
Aid groups have called on Israel to respect the terms of the deal and allow the full amount of agreed-upon aid to enter Gaza and help those in need.
Additional sources • AP