The statement clarified that the coffin was handed over inside the Strip to the Israeli army and the Shabak, in preparation for its transfer to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv to identify the body.
This comes hours after Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced its intention to hand over the body of one of the hostages on Friday evening.
According to Israeli sources, Hamas had released all the living Israeli hostages, numbering 20, in exchange for about two thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza, and agreed to hand over the bodies of 28 hostages in exchange for the bodies of 360 Palestinian fighters killed during the war.
Netanyahu’s office stated in a previous statement that the three identities that Israel received last Sunday belong to “Colonel Asaf Hamami,” “Captain Omer Maxim Neutra,” and “Sergeant First Class Oz Daniel,” confirming that the identification operations were carried out in cooperation between the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police, and the Military Rabbinate.
The statement stressed that the Israeli government and its security services “are working tirelessly to return all dead hostages to their families,” calling on Hamas to “fulfill its obligations to the mediators and fully implement the agreement.”
In the same context, field sources stated that Egyptian equipment and machinery are participating in search operations inside Gaza to facilitate access to the bodies trapped under the rubble.
This development coincides with Israel and Hamas exchanging accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement, in light of the difficulty of implementing the final phase related to the recovery of the remains of 11 hostages still inside the Strip.
