Overview
- The IDF and the prime minister’s office said the Red Cross delivered a coffin from Gaza for forensic identification, and if confirmed, seven deceased hostages would remain to be recovered.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reported receiving 45 Palestinian bodies, bringing the total returned under the deal to about 270, with only roughly 75–80 identified due to limited DNA capacity.
- Following disputed handovers last week that Israel said were not hostages, Israeli strikes killed at least 104 people according to Palestinian officials, and transfers have since resumed under the U.S.-brokered truce.
- Israeli media and officials report up to about 200 Hamas fighters trapped in Rafah tunnels as the U.S. urges a solution; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel will not allow safe passage.
- Tensions around the exchanges are intensifying, with an Israeli minister advocating the death penalty for detainees and Palestinian authorities alleging torture and mutilation of bodies returned by Israel.