GAZA: Israeli authorities have identified remains handed over by Hamas as belonging to three hostages taken by the group in October 2023, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
“Following the completion of the identification process… representatives of the IDF (military) informed the families of the hostages killed in action… that their loved ones have been repatriated to Israel and identified,” the statement said. The remains are those of American-Israeli Captain Omer Neutra, 21 years old at the time of his abduction, Corporal Oz Daniel, 19, and Colonel Assaf Hamami, 40, the highest-ranking officer killed by Hamas.
Last day, Hamas’ armed wing said it would hand over the bodies of three Israeli captives later on Sunday as part of the ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange under the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel.
“The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the bodies… that were found earlier today along the route of one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip at 8:00 pm Gaza time (1800 GMT),” the Palestinian group had said on its Telegram channel.
As of November 3, 2025, a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, which began on October 10, is still technically in effect but has been repeatedly violated by both sides, primarily with Israeli forces conducting numerous deadly airstrikes and ground operations.
Since the truce began, Hamas has released 20 surviving hostages and started handing over the remains of those killed.
Of the 28 bodies, it has so far returned 17 — including 15 Israelis, one Thai national, and one Nepalese.
Israel has accused Hamas of dragging its feet in returning the bodies, while the Palestinian group says the process is slow because many remains are buried beneath Gaza’s rubble.
An Israeli campaign group representing the families of hostages has called for “determined” efforts to bring back the remains of those captives still missing.
Israel has continued to conduct military strikes across Gaza, killing over 230 Palestinians since the ceasefire started. On one occasion alone, over 100 people were killed in a single wave of Israeli air strikes following the death of an Israeli soldier.
A major point of violation has been Israel’s continued blocking of humanitarian aid. Only about 24% of the agreed-upon 600 aid trucks per day have been allowed in, leading to dire humanitarian conditions. Israel has also kept the Rafah crossing largely closed to aid and travel. Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the truce.
