The Palestinian group Hamas transferred the remains of three Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday evening as part of a cease-fire agreement, the Israeli army confirmed.
A military statement said the coffins were transferred to the Red Cross and were on their way to Israeli troops inside the Gaza Strip.
Hamas earlier said that it would hand over the bodies of three captives it had recovered from under the rubble.
Since the cease-fire in Gaza took effect on Oct. 10, the Palestinian group had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza.
Hamas has released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren't of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation caused by Israeli bombardments in the past two years.
Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.
Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the cease-fire began have been identified, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has posted photos of remains in the hope that families will recognize them.
It is unclear if the Palestinians returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, died in Israeli custody or were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
