Hamas acknowledged the problem, saying on Wednesday that the remaining groups needed “huge efforts and special equipment for search and recovery.”
Early Thursday morning, Israel identified the two latest bodies returned from Hamas as Inbal Heyman and Sergeant John Rodger. Major Muhammad Al-Attarash.
Funeral services are being held as the deceased hostages are being returned.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday told senior Israeli Defense Forces commanders to prepare a military plan to defeat Hamas if the militant group refuses to implement President Trump’s peace plan, according to his spokesman.
“Hamas must return all dead hostages in its possession,” the spokesperson said, adding that if Hamas refuses, “Israel, in coordination with the United States, will return to the fight and act decisively to defeat Hamas.”
The United Nations announced on Tuesday that it had received a letter from COGAT, the liaison between the Israeli military and the Palestinians, informing it that aid would be halved due to delays in releasing the bodies of the hostages.
Israeli attacks have killed nearly 70,000 people in the Gaza Strip, two years after a Hamas-led Israeli attack on Oct. 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people and triggered the Gaza War, Palestinian health officials said. The enclave is in ruins, with most of the population living without adequate shelter or medical care. Famine was declared in parts of Gaza in August.
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that 45 dead Palestinians held in Israeli custody had been returned to Gaza, bringing the total number of bodies received to 90.
Dr. Ahmed Edhair, head of the Gaza Strip Forensic Medicine Department, said all of the victims had lost “a big toe or a big toe.” NBC News was unable to independently verify this claim.
The Israel Prisons Authority directed NBC News to interview the IDF, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Katz also called for Hamas to disarm or face new military action, in line with one of Israel’s longstanding war objectives, as stipulated in President Trump’s agreement.
