Israel announced that the bodies it received on Friday were not those of Israeli prisoners and said it does not consider the incident a violation of the ongoing ceasefire agreement.
The bodies handed over by the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas to Israel on Friday were not those of Israeli prisoners, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Saturday.
Israeli media had announced on Friday evening that Israel received the remains of three Israeli prisoners from the Red Cross. Channel 12 added that the remains were transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for examination.
Channel 13 reported that Hamas informed the Red Cross it was unaware of the identity of the bodies and suggested that Israel conduct the verification.
According to Israeli Army Radio, the security establishment does not view the incident as a breach of the ceasefire by Hamas.
Qassam fighters accompanied the Red Cross into the areas under Israeli occupation in Gaza to help retrieve the bodies of Israeli captives.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians remain buried under millions of tons of rubble, with Israel barring the entry of rescue crews & gear. https://t.co/UGWpAmBjXO
— Mohammad Alsaafin (@malsaafin) October 31, 2025
The broadcaster added that Israel prefers to continue receiving samples in the future in case they are linked to other prisoners.
On Thursday, Hamas handed over the remains of two prisoners from Gaza to Israel via the Red Cross, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, after their identities were officially confirmed by Israeli authorities.
Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has delivered 20 living Israeli prisoners and the remains of 19 others out of a total of 28.
These exchanges are part of the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, which came into effect on October 10, 2025.
Israel has linked the start of negotiations for the second phase of the agreement to receiving the remaining bodies of the prisoners.
Hamas, meanwhile, says the process will take time due to the massive destruction in Gaza and the lack of equipment and mechanisms for locating the remains.
(PC, AJA, Israeli Media)
