The Israeli military denies any involvement, except to say that it received two coffins. It is thought these coffins hold the remains of deceased Gaza hostages. The ICRC received the coffins from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and transferred them to Israeli military authorities. This was a momentous step in the long-stalled negotiations since the US-proposed ceasefire agreement signed on October 9.
This transfer marks the return of the 14th and 15th deceased hostages to Israel. It’s a notable breakthrough since the November ceasefire agreement was reached. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the details of the handover. This struck him as inadequate, mainly because they clearly needed to be pressed on the dangers of misidentifying the remains. “We will proceed with sensitivity and wait for official identification, which will first be communicated to the families of the deceased hostages,” stated the IDF.
He said returning the dead hostages is not happening any time soon. Each one of these folks is committed to getting those bodies home. We want to make sure that these folks can get a dignified burial, alongside their families. Now, that said, this is difficult. This is not going to happen overnight,” he added.
The new release comes on the heels of a horrific act. According to military sources, one of the bodies that Hamas returned was not that of an Israeli hostage. The IDF is now saying that Hamas has given them back 13 of 28 bodies they agreed to release. This agreement is the first step of the modified ceasefire accord reached last fall. Among those identified so far is Sergeant Major Tal Haimi, whose family has been holding out hope and looking for answers.
According to recent, classified US intelligence assessments, Hamas will likely struggle to find and return all remaining deceased hostages. Vance pointed out that some individuals are “buried under thousands of pounds of rubble,” complicating recovery efforts. He added that “some of the hostages, nobody knows even where they are. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to get them.
The terms of the ceasefire call for Hamas to release all hostages, both living and dead, back to Israel. They need to ensure the release of all civilians within the first 72 hours following the start of the ceasefire. VP Vance again declined to provide a date by which all hostages will have been returned. He equally failed to explain when Hamas will be disarmed.
Despite worries that the ceasefire was still very much in danger of collapse, Vance dismissed such concerns about its fragility. In a speech just last week, he reiterated Israel and Hamas’s mutual promises to keep the peace at this fragile moment. In spite of this mixed messaging, the IDF maintained that Hamas needs to honour the deal. They demanded that Hamas act quickly to return all the dead hostages.
While families across the country will never stop waiting for answers, authorities stress that any form of identification of the remains will be carefully done. The Israeli military and Israel Security Agency (ISA) are actively involved in these efforts, ensuring that proper protocols are followed when informing families about their loved ones.
