Israel says remains returned aren’t bodies of hostages

MIDEAST TURMOIL

People attend a tefillin-laying ceremony led by Bar Kupershtein, an Israeli recently released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday. ODED BALILTY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Renata Brito

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM>> The remains of three people Hamas handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza do not belong to any hostages, Israel said Saturday, in the latest setback to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The handover followed Israel’s return on Friday of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza, which completed an exchange after militants turned over remains of two hostages earlier in the week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday confirmed that the remains of the three people did not belong to any hostages. It was unclear who the remains belonged to.

Hamas’ armed wing said it had offered to hand over samples Friday of unidentified bodies but Israel refused and asked for the remains for examination.

“We handed the bodies over to stop the claims of Israel,” the statement said. Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits.

Since the ceasefire took effect Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 17 hostages. Eleven remain in Gaza. Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation and Israeli military presence in some areas.

Israel has been releasing the unidentified remains of 15 Palestinians for the remains of each Israeli hostage. The number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel since the ceasefire began now stands at 225. Only 75 have been identified by families, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

It is unclear if those returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war.

The fragile truce faced its biggest challenge last week as Israel carried out strikes across Gaza that killed more than 100 people, after the killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city.

Jordan’s foreign minister warned Saturday that Israel maintaining a military presence in Gaza puts the ceasefire at risk.

Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security summit, Ayman Safadi added it was “imperative” to have a Palestinian police force maintaining security, supported by an international stabilization force with a U.N. Security Council mandate.

“With Israel staying in Gaza, I think security is going to be a challenge,” Safadi said. “Israel cannot stay in 53% of Gaza and then expect security to be achieved.”

The 20-point U.S. peace plan includes the formation and deployment of a temporary international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected. The U.S. has ruled out American soldiers in Gaza.

The visiting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, met with Israeli officials Saturday.

Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force but called for a clear U.N. mandate before committing troops.

Other difficult questions include Hamas’ disarmament and the governance of a postwar Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has offered thousands of troops for Gaza.

“But details, or the term of reference for that matter, remain unclear,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name, said in the week.