Israel Confirms Returned Remains Not Hostages

Israeli forensic analysis found three partial remains transferred via the Red Cross were not any of the hostages taken in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, a finding confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Hamas’s armed wing said it handed over unidentified bodies or samples to pre-empt Israeli claims and blamed difficulties locating and identifying remains on rubble, tunnels and a shortage of DNA kits. The transfers occurred amid a fragile U.S.-brokered truce that has seen the release of surviving hostages and the return of dozens of bodies, while roughly 11 hostages’ remains are still reported in Gaza. Israel is pressing for full-body handovers to enable proper forensic examination, while Hamas has called for more mediators, equipment and Red Cross support. The incident heightened strain on the ceasefire, which has been punctuated by periodic violence, including recent Israeli strikes after an Israeli soldier was killed in Rafah.