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Associated Press

Israel on Sunday announced that the remains of three hostages had been handed over from Gaza and would be examined by forensic experts, as a fragile month-old ceasefire held.
A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza, before Sunday’s handover.
Israel’s military said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first.

US President Donald Trump later on Sunday indicated that the remains of Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli citizen, were among the hostages returned by Hamas. The president said he has spoken with the family of Neutra, who served as a tank platoon commander in the Israel Defence Forces.
Israeli officials have said they believed Neutra, a Long Island, New York native, was killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war.
“They were thrilled, in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, it’s not too great,” Trump said of Neutra’s parents.
Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren’t of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation.
Emotions around the remains have been high among families, who continue to rally weekly. On Saturday night, Moran Harari, a friend of the late Carmel Gat, urged Israel to have restraint.
“This cursed war has taken so many lives of dear people on both sides of the fence. This time, we must not fall into it again,” Harari said during a rally in Jerusalem.

Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.
Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has posted photos of remains in the hope that families will recognise them.
The exchange has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilisation force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected.
Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force but have called for a clear UN Security Council mandate before committing troops.
Other difficult questions include Hamas’ disarmament and the governance of a post-war Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Sunday that “there are still pockets of Hamas” in parts of Gaza controlled by Israeli forces.

“There are actually two in Rafah and Khan Younis, and they will be eliminated,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting.
The deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas began with the Hamas-led 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
Israel, which has denied accusations by a UN commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradicting toll.


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Israel-Gaza war

Israel receives remains of 3 more Gaza hostages as fragile ceasefire holds

A Palestinian Hamas militant stands guard near the so-called ‘yellow line’ to which Israeli troops withdrew under the ceasefire, as Hamas continues to search for the bodies of deceased hostages in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters

Red Cross vehicles transporting the remains. Photo: AP

Red Cross workers help search for bodies. Photo: EPA

Rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters

Israel confirms 3 bodies received from Hamas are not hostages amid fragile Gaza truce

The Red Cross transports the body of a deceased hostage on Friday, who had been held in Gaza since the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas. Photo: Reuters

A Palestinian mourns over victims killed during Israeli airstrikes, at al-Shifa hospital in west of Gaza City on October 28. Photo: Xinhua

Palestinians wait to get donated sugar and rice at a community kitchen in Khan Younis on Friday. Photo: AP

Israel resumes Gaza strikes despite commitment to US-backed ceasefire: ‘war still ongoing’

Smoke rises in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian women bake bread in a clay oven, using plastic for fire, at a UN school used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis. Photo: AP

Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Mourners react as they attend the funeral of Palestinians who, according to doctors, were killed in overnight Israeli strikes, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Netanyahu says Hamas returned remains from previously retrieved body: ‘clear violation’

Israeli soldiers and police salute as a convoy carrying the body of a hostage arrives in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Members of the Red Cross inspect a coffin during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages by Hamas in Khan Younis on February 20. Photo: dpa

Palestinians watch as an Egyptian team searches for the bodies of hostages near a tent camp for displaced people in Khan Younis on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Israeli military says Gaza ceasefire back on after dozens killed in strikes

Palestinians look out of a window, near a house hit in an overnight Israeli strike, in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters

A man carries the body of a child after overnight Israeli strikes. Photo: Reuters

Mourners during the funeral of relatives killed in an Israeli strike. Photo: AP

Palestinians return to Gaza to find ‘destruction everywhere’ after ceasefire takes effect

Palestinians make their way towards Gaza City from Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Friday. Photo: AFP

Palestinians return to inspect their homes after the Israeli army withdraws from some areas east of Khan Younis on Friday. Photo: EPA

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis on Sunday. Photo: AP

Two people hold the Palestinian flag as they return to inspect their homes east of Khan Younis. Photo: EPA

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Middle East

The return of remains has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10


The return of remains has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10.
