Israel received two bodies which Hamas says are two other deceased hostages held in Gaza.
The Israeli military said two coffins were delivered to troops in the Palestinian territory by the Red Cross, which had previously received them from Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the coffins – which were escorted by the military – had entered Israel and would be officially identified in Tel Aviv.
Confirmation of their identities would mean Hamas transferred 15 of the 28 deceased Israeli hostages as part of the first phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal earlier this month. The 20 living hostages were released shortly after the deal was reached.
Hamas handed over the body of a Palestinian in a previous hostage transfer, which it called accidental due to difficulties locating the bodies.
The Israeli military on Tuesday evening urged the Israeli public to “act with sensitivity and wait for official identification, which will first be provided to the families of the hostages.”
He also stressed that “Hamas is obliged to respect the agreement and take the necessary measures to return all deceased hostages.”
Israeli officials said the hostages’ families will be informed once the bodies are identified.
There has been outrage in Israel because Hamas has not yet returned all the deceased hostages.
The Palestinian group says it is trying to do so but is having difficulty finding bodies under the rubble of buildings bombed by the IDF in Gaza.
As part of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, and returned 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli hostage remains.
The first phase of the deal also saw an increase in aid to Gaza, a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and a halt to fighting – although deadly violence erupted over the weekend as both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the deal.
The Israeli army launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.
Since then, more than 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
