– Europe Press/Contact/Omar Ashtawi
Madrid, December 3 (European Press) –
The government of Israel said on Wednesday that the final remains handed over by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Tuesday do not match any of the hostages kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attacks, which is why it stressed that it “will not stop its efforts” to ensure the return of all the bodies.
After identifying the remains, Israeli authorities indicated that “the National Center for Forensic Medicine determined that they were not related to any of the deceased hostages” in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We have informed the families of the two remaining hostages. Efforts are continuing to deliver their bodies until this mission is fully completed and they are returned to their homeland for a proper burial,” the text read.
The Israeli army confirmed, on Tuesday, that it had received unspecified “finds” located in the Gaza Strip, although it did not provide details on whether or not they were the remains of another person kidnapped during the attacks of October 7, 2023.
He stressed that once the identification process is completed, the family will be “formally notified” if necessary and within the framework of the agreement reached in October to implement the first phase of the American proposal for the future of the sector.
The implementation of this agreement included the ceasefire that entered into force on October 10, the release of the 20 hostages who were still alive, and the handover of 30 of the deceased hostages. In addition, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinians who had been in its prisons, and handed over nearly 350 bodies of Palestinians it had held since the attacks and subsequent assault on Gaza.