Conclusion came after exams were carried out at the Legal Medical Institute; In the exchange agreement, the terrorist group committed to handing over all prisoners remaining in the Gaza Strip
The Army stated this Wednesday (15) that the fourth body delivered on Tuesday night (14) by the terrorist group does not correspond to that of any of the hostages. After examinations by the Medical-Legal Institute, the conclusion is that “the fourth body delivered by Hamas to Israel does not correspond to any of the hostages”, states a military statement.
“Hamas must make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages,” warned the Israeli Army. In the exchange agreement concluded between Israel and Hamas as part of the truce brokered by the , the terrorist group committed to handing over all hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip. On Monday (13), the last 20 living hostages from the October 7, 2023 kidnapping were released. In the last 48 hours, the group also returned eight of the expected 28 bodies.
The Israeli Prime Minister, , demanded that Hamas comply with the requirements set out in the ceasefire agreement, presented by the US President, , regarding the return of the bodies of the hostages. “We will not compromise on this and we will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage,” he said.
The ceasefire plan proposed by the US provided for the surrender of all hostages, living and dead, by the deadline, which expired on Monday. Under the agreement, if this did not happen, Hamas was to share information about the dead hostages and try to hand them over as quickly as possible.
This is not the first time that Hamas has returned the wrong body to Israel. Earlier this year, during a previous ceasefire, the group said it had handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two children. Tests later showed that one of the returned bodies was actually identified as that of a Palestinian woman. Bibas’ body was returned a day later and positively identified.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday that the group was working to return the bodies of the hostages, as agreed in the ceasefire agreement. He accused Israel of violating the agreement with Tuesday’s shootings in eastern Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the military is operating according to the deployment lines established in the agreement and warned that anyone who approaches the deployment line will be targeted, as happened on Tuesday with several militants.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nícolas Robert
