Israel confirmed Monday that the remains of three hostages returned from Gaza are those of soldiers killed in the Oct. 7 incursion, marking another step forward for the fragile, U.S.-brokered cease-fire.
Since the cease-fire took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now remaining in Gaza.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the three hostages returned as Capt. Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Col. Assaf Hamami. A Hamas statement earlier said their remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he had spoken with the family of American-Israeli Omer Neutra, describing their relief and heartbreak. "They were thrilled, in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, it’s not too great," Trump said.
Hamas has released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases, it has said the remains were not those of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation.
Israel, in turn, has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli hostage returned. 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. The Ministry has posted photos of the remains online and used projectors to magnify the images onto the walls of Nasser hospital, all in the hope that families will recognize them
The latest detainee-hostage exchange came as Israel was shaken by a political scandal involving the former legal chief for Israel’s military.
Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was arrested overnight after she admitted to leaking a video of Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee, according to media reports. A former chief military prosecutor was also arrested, the reports said.
The two were to appear in court Monday. The authorities did not immediately comment.
The arrest of Tomer-Yerushalmi, came just days after she issued a stunning admission that she was responsible for leaking a video showing Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee and resigned from office.
The arrest followed a frantic search Sunday along the Tel Aviv beach for Tomer-Yerushalmi, after her family raised concerns for her safety and police found her abandoned car along the coastline, reported Israel’s Channel 12. Police said she was found soon after the search began.
Former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also arrested, reported Israel’s Army Radio.
Meanwhile, the exchange of hostage remains for Palestinian bodies has been the central part of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire.
The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the cease-fire is respected.
Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force but have called for a clear U.N. Security Council mandate before committing troops.
Other difficult questions include Hamas' disarmament and the governance of a postwar Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will visit Jordan on Monday and call on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. She is expected to visit a warehouse where British aid remains stuck waiting to enter Gaza.
Ahead of the visit, Cooper said that "humanitarian support is desperately needed and the people of Gaza cannot afford to wait.”
"Following the U.S.-led peace process and the plans for a substantial increase in aid for Gaza, we need an increase in crossings, an acceleration in lifting of restrictions and more agencies able to go in with aid," Cooper said.
Cooper also announced that Britain will provide an extra 6 million pounds ($7.9 million) of humanitarian support for Gaza, provided by the U.N. Population Fund.
The two-year war has been the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas. It started with the Hamas-led 2023 incursion that caused about 1,200 deaths and saw 251 taken as hostages.
Israel’s genocidal war, in comparison, killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
