Israel escorts remains of 4 hostages from Gaza, others still missing

JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Monday it was escorting into Israel the remains of four hostages handed over by Hamas in Gaza.

The deceased were among 28 bodies of hostages held in Gaza that were to be returned under the ceasefire agreement by Monday. It was not immediately clear when the remaining bodies would be returned.

"Four coffins of deceased hostages are currently being escorted by IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and Shin Bet forces on their way to Israel," the military said in a statement. Once in Israel, the bodies will be transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas's military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said it would hand over four bodies, three Israelis and a Nepali national. They were identified as: Daniel Perez, a platoon tank commander killed during the Hamas-led assault on Oct 7, 2023; Bipin Joshi, a Nepali agricultural student previously listed by Israel as "at grave risk"; Guy Illouz, seized from the Nova music festival; and Yossi Sharabi, brother of freed hostage Eli Sharabi, abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be'eri.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas should return the remains of all 28 deceased hostages by Monday. However, the group said it was facing difficulties locating the burial sites of all the bodies.

An Israeli government spokeswoman said Sunday that an international task force would be established to assist in locating the missing remains.

Israel had expected that not all the bodies would be transferred on Monday, yet the handover of only four triggered anger among families of the hostages. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents families of the hostages, issued a statement, calling for an "immediate suspension of all agreement implementation" until all the bodies are returned.

The last 20 living hostages were returned from Gaza to Israel on Monday, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, which also requires Israel to release nearly 2,000 Palestinians.