The Red Cross on Friday night said it transferred the partial remains of three bodies, possibly of hostages, from Hamas to Israel.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in its role as a neutral intermediary, assisted this evening at the request and with the approval of the parties in returning the remains of three bodies to the Israeli authorities,” the ICRC said in a statement.
The remains were taken out of the Gaza Strip and to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification.
There was no comment from Israeli authorities or Hamas on the transfer.
It was unclear if the remains belonged to any of the 11 deceased hostages still held in the Strip.
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Earlier this week, Hamas returned the partial remains of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered by the IDF nearly two years prior. Military drone footage showed the terror group staging the discovery of the remains before handing them over to the Red Cross, which Tzarfati’s family decried as Hamas “manipulation.”
Hamas operatives are seen staging the “recovery” of the remains of a hostage in Gaza City, as Red Cross representatives look on, October 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
On Thursday, Hamas returned to Israel the remains of slain hostages Amiram Cooper, 84, and Sahar Baruch, 25, marking the first time in over a week it handed over bodies of deceased captives.
It is unclear when Hamas will return the bodies of the 11 remaining deceased captives, or how many it has access to. Israel has accused Hamas of multiple violations of the ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10, and has charged that the terror group knows the location of the vast majority of the remaining bodies of hostages, and is purposely stalling.
The ceasefire agreement required Hamas to return all remaining 48 living and deceased hostages within 72 hours. While the group followed through in handing over all 20 living hostages, it returned only four of the 28 bodies still held in Gaza hours after the deadline. It has since returned another 13 bodies.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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