Hamas said it has handed back to Israel the remains of all the deceased hostages that it can reach, and that it will need special recovery equipment to reach more bodies promised under a US-brokered ceasefire deal aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, had announced it would hand over the bodies of two Israeli hostages on Wednesday evening at 10pm local time (6am Thursday AEDT), describing the move as part of the ongoing “hostage-prisoner exchange” agreed to under the truce.
The Israeli military confirmed shortly after 6am that the Red Cross had received two coffins of deceased hostages from Hamas and were on their way to meet Israeli military forces with the remains.
“The Resistance has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in its custody, as well as the corpses it could access,” Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement on social media.
“As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file.”
A Nepali student pays respect to Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student killed in Palestinian militant group Hamas custody, during a candlelight vigil held in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 15 October 2025. Source: Getty / Subaas Shrestha
Earlier in the day, Israel returned the remains of 45 Palestinians to Gaza authorities, bringing the total number of bodies handed over to 90 since the agreement came into effect. In Khan Yunis, journalists with the Agence France-Presse news agency saw morgue workers unloading refrigerated trucks parked beside Red Cross vehicles.
Under the terms of the deal, negotiated by US President Donald Trump, Israel is to transfer 15 Palestinian bodies for each deceased Israeli returned. The arrangement follows earlier exchanges this week, including the return of three Israeli bodies and one Nepalese on Monday, and several more on Tuesday, one of which has not yet been identified by Israel.
The ceasefire has also seen the release of the final 20 surviving hostages from Gaza in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, including about 1,700 detainees held without charge since the war in Gaza, as well as a halt to fighting and bombardment. However, the remains of nearly 20 other hostages are still believed to be in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing domestic pressure to ensure the recovery of those bodies. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has threatened to cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza if Hamas fails to return the remains of Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt remained closed on Wednesday, despite reports it could reopen to allow aid convoys through, with Israel insisting Hamas first hand over the last of the deceased hostages.
