Hamas announced on Tuesday that it will transfer two bodies of deceased hostages to Israel at 9 p.m., a day after it returned the body of slain hostage Tal Haimi.
The terror group’s military wing said the hostages were “retrieved today in the Strip,” and did not identify them.
In previous handovers, bodies were transferred by the Red Cross to the Israel Defense Forces, and were then taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification.
In accordance with the ceasefire deal, Hamas released the last 20 living hostages last Monday, within 72 hours of Israel’s withdrawal to the Yellow Line. Hamas has also returned the remains of 13 slain hostages during the ceasefire.
The remaining 15 deceased hostages include a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 Gaza war — the last remaining hostage from before the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
Separately, the Red Cross said Tuesday it facilitated the transfer of 15 Palestinian bodies from Israel to Gaza under the ceasefire deal, taking the total handed over to 165.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today facilitated the transfer of deceased Palestinians to authorities in Gaza…. Local health authorities in Gaza have confirmed the number of deceased received today is 15,” the Red Cross said in a statement.
Under the Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel returns the bodies of 15 Palestinians for the body of every hostage returned. Israel confirmed Tuesday that Hamas handed over the 13th body of a hostage — Haimi — the night before.
Meanwhile, two IDF soldiers were lightly injured after their tank was hit by an explosive device in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip earlier on Tuesday, the military said.
The two wounded troops were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the IDF added.
The incident took place at 12:30 p.m., during efforts by the forces to clear the area where they are stationed of potential threats.
According to an initial military probe, no terror operatives were detected in the area when the bomb was detonated. The IDF is investigating when the explosive device was planted in the area.
The IDF also struck several targets in the area that had “posed a threat to the troops operating in the area,” according to military officials.
The incidents came two days after the ceasefire was tested, when gunmen emerged from a tunnel deep within Israeli-held territory in southern Gaza’s Rafah and launched RPGs at troops, killing two soldiers, Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21. Another three troops were wounded by sniper fire in the same area.
In response, the military carried out strikes against 20 targets in Gaza, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 45 people, before it said it was returning to implementing the agreement. The death toll could not be verified and did not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
While the Israeli military directly blamed Hamas for the attack on the troops in Rafah, the terror group denied responsibility, claiming “communication has been cut off” with operatives in Israeli-controlled areas.
