Overview
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said forensic authorities confirmed the identities and notified the families after examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.
- The two bodies were handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross on October 30 and transferred to Israeli custody for a military reception and processing by the army and Shin Bet.
- Seventeen of the 28 sets of remains pledged under the ceasefire have now been returned, with Hamas citing the difficulty of locating bodies in the ruins of Gaza.
- Israel delivered 30 Palestinian bodies to Nasser Hospital on October 31 in exchange for the two returned hostages’ remains, bringing exchanges to 225 Palestinian bodies for 15 Israeli remains to date.
- Transfers have faced delays and recriminations, including Israeli accusations of a staged discovery and a brief resumption of strikes after a fatal Rafah incident before the ceasefire was reasserted.