Gaza – AFP

The Israeli army announced that the bodies of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza were received through the Red Cross from Hamas on Monday and have arrived in Israel.

The army statement said that “the coffins of four deceased hostages,” accompanied by its forces and the General Security Service (Shin Bet), “crossed the Israeli border a short while ago and are currently on their way to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.”

Hamas is holding the remains of 24 deceased hostages. The group agreed to hand over the remains to Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States, which came into effect on Friday at 9:00 GMT. On Monday, the army stated that “Hamas must respect the agreement and take the necessary measures to return all deceased hostages.”

Israeli authorities announced on Sunday that not all the remains of hostages who died during captivity would be received on Monday. According to the authorities, an “international body” will be established to locate the remains of hostages whose bodies will not be returned as part of the exchange process on Monday.