ISTANBUL<\/p>\n
The Israeli army claimed on Wednesday that one of four bodies returned by the Palestinian group Hamas a day earlier under a Gaza ceasefire agreement does not match any of the hostages.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages,\u201d a military statement said.<\/p>\n
The army called on Hamas \u201cto make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian group on the Israeli claim.<\/p>\n
Hamas handed over the remains of four more Israeli hostages on Tuesday, a day after releasing 20 living Israeli hostages and transferring the bodies of four captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n
Four more bodies are expected to be returned to Israel on Wednesday, according to Israel\u2019s public broadcaster KAN.<\/p>\n
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.<\/p>\n
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas\u2019 participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.<\/p>\n
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.<\/p>\n