Israel identifies the remains of two hostages handed over by Hamas

Israel identified the remains of two hostages on Sunday after Hamas handed over their bodies to the Red Cross the night before.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai farm worker killed at Kibbutz Be’eri. Both are believed to have been killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken to Gaza. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a previous ceasefire in November 2023.

Since the Gaza peace plan went into effect earlier this week, Hamas has handed over 20 live hostages and the confirmed remains of at least 12 hostages. The whereabouts of at least 16 hostages held by Hamas are still unknown. One of the bodies handed over to Israel did not belong to any hostage.

The delivery of the remains, along with the sending of aid to Gaza and the future governance of the devastated territory, are among the key points of the ceasefire reached on October 10 and aimed at ending two years of war.

President Trump joined world leaders in Egypt on Monday sign the peace plan mediated by the United States Within this framework, Hamas agreed to release all remaining living and deceased hostages in exchange for Israel releasing almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The released Palestinians include 250 people serving life sentences and around 1,700 more who had been arrested and held without charge since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.

Hamas handed over the bodies of four confirmed hostages on Monday, another three on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. That same day he said he had released all the Remains of Israeli hostages in Gaza who had been able to recover. But on Friday returned another confirmed hostage.

And according to the News, as part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel has so far returned the bodies of at least 135 Palestinians to Gaza. On Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Israel returned the bodies of 15 other Palestinians.

A senior U.S. adviser told reporters in a phone call Wednesday that “no one will be left behind,” noting that they believe there are still many bodies buried under mountains of rubble throughout Gaza. Senior US advisers said the level of destruction also makes mobility in the Palestinian territory difficult.

Trump also said Monday in Egypt that not all of the bodies of the deceased hostages had been found, adding that unidentified parties were still “working” on how to locate an unspecified number of remains.

Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday that American personnel would participate in efforts to recover the hostages’ remains.

Tensions emerged this weekend over the implementation of the peace plan, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the ceasefire in recent days.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that militants fired on troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in areas controlled by Israel, along agreed ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. A senior Hamas official denied to the News that Hamas was involved.

Netanyahu’s office announced on Saturday that the critical Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza, which connects to Egypt, “would not open until further notice,” saying its opening would depend “on how Hamas fulfills its part of returning the abductees and implementing the agreed-upon scheme.”

Hamas responded by calling the move “a flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement.”

Meanwhile, the US State Department issued a statement Saturday night saying that the United States had learned of a Hamas plan to attack “Palestinian civilians.”

The United States said it had “informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of credible reports indicating an imminent violation of the ceasefire by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”

Hamas on Sunday rejected the US claims, calling them “false accusations” and accusing Israel of supporting armed groups operating in Israeli-controlled areas. Hamas urged the US administration to pressure Israel to stop supporting the gangs and “provide them with a safe haven.”

this comes later News themezone Obtained a video on Wednesday showing armed Hamas fighters standing next to Palestinians they accused of being members of gangs collaborating with Israel. Moments later, they are executed.

The disturbing images are part of a long pattern of punishment meted out to suspected collaborators, Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin told News themezone.

The NewsTucker Reals, Débora Patta, Olivia Rinaldi and Melissa Gaffney contributed to this report.

In:

• Hamas
• Israel