Israelis received three more unidentified bodies from Gaza, but do not believe they are hostages

Israel received this Friday, October 31, at night three unidentified bodies from Gaza, sent by the Red Cross, said an Israeli military source, adding that they do not believe they were hostages.

“We don’t know if the bodies that were returned to us are those of hostages”an Israeli military source told France-Presse (AFP).

“Based on our information, we do not believe these are the bodies of hostages. We have transferred them to the forensic laboratory.” to try to identify them, added the same source.

The Red Cross had previously said that it handed over to the Israeli authorities the bodies of three people taken from the Gaza Strip and handed over by Hamas.

“The Israeli forensic authorities are responsible for taking all necessary measures to identify the remains.”highlighted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a statement.

The last bodies were delivered on Thursday and identified as those of hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, the prime minister’s office said in a statement released the previous day.

This Friday, Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in exchange for the remains of two Israeli hostages.

As part of the ceasefire, Hamas released the remaining 20 hostages in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. In addition, he also handed over the bodies of 17 hostages, leaving 11 still in the enclave.

In turn, Israel repatriated 225 bodies of Gazans to the Palestinian enclave, with the mediation of the Red Cross.

Many showed signs of abuse and torture, or were charred, according to images released by the Ministry of Health to facilitate identification, as well as reports from medical and Hamas sources.

So far, according to the Ministry of Health of the enclave controlled by Hamas, only 75 of the 225 bodies repatriated by Israel have been identified.

The Israeli Army had already told the AP that all the bodies returned to date were those of combatants, a claim that the news agency was unable to verify. The military said it operates in accordance with international law.