Tel Aviv [Israel], October 15 (ANI/TPS): An Israeli security official briefing reporters on Wednesday morning confirmed that one of the four bodies returned to Israel overnight was not a hostage. Experts at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine determined the remains belonged to a Palestinian.
The centre confirmed the identities of the three other bodies as soldiers Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi, and Eitan Levy. Unlike Monday’s handover, Hamas did not specify the names of the deceased.
In February, a body purporting to be Shiri Bibas was returned to Israel along with her two children, but forensic examination revealed the body was Palestinian. Terrorists had murdered her sons, Ariel and Kfir, with their bare hands and then mutilated the bodies to make it appear they were killed in an airstrike. Hamas released Shiri’s remains the following day.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas is obligated to return the bodies of all remaining hostages—currently 23—still held in Gaza. More remains are expected to be handed over on Wednesday.
The recovery of missing Israeli bodies is being coordinated through Qatari, Turkish, and Egyptian mediators. Officials caution that locating and identifying all the remains will take time, as many are believed to be buried in unmarked graves or trapped beneath collapsed buildings. Hamas claims to know the locations of 14 of the 28 hostages confirmed killed, but Israeli security officials believe the terror group holds more information than it has disclosed.
Since October 7, 2023, around 1,200 people have been killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners abducted. (ANI/TPS)
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