The Israeli army confirms having received three unidentified bodies from Gaza
"We do not yet know if the bodies that have been returned are those of the hostages," said an Israeli military source.
Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of a reservist who died in Gaza
(AFP) An Israeli military source said Friday that the army received three unidentified bodies from the Gaza Strip through the Red Cross but said he did not believe these belonged to some of the hostages.
"We do not yet know if the bodies that have been returned are those of the hostages," an Israeli military source told AFP, confirming earlier reports that Israeli authorities had received three bodies from the Red Cross.
"According to our information, we do not believe they are the bodies of the hostages, and we have transferred them to the forensic investigation laboratory" to confirm their identities, he added.
On Friday morning, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement that its teams "facilitated the transfer of three deceased to the Israeli authorities this evening."
"This was done at the request of the parties and with their consent," the body added.
JNS
Red Cross aided staged Hamas ‘recovery’ of hostage remains in Gaza, Israel says
JNS (Jewish News Syndicate)/Akiva Van Koningsveld
So far, the terrorist group Hamas has returned the bodies of 17 of the 28 deceased hostages agreed to in the U.S.-backed cease-fire, not counting the three bodies returned this Friday.
After the truce went into effect, Hamas released the 20 hostages alive and began the process of returning the deceased captives.
Israel accuses Hamas of breaching the agreement by not returning them quickly enough, but the terror group says it will take time to locate and extract the bodies from the ruins of Gaza.
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