Hamas claims it has recovered three slain hostages in Gaza

The Gaza terror group says it is preparing to transfer the bodies of three slain hostages to Israel, even as Israel denounces “pathetic” attempts by Hamas to mislead during previous handovers.

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror organization has recovered the bodies of three more hostages in the Gaza Strip and is preparing to transfer the remains to Israel Sunday evening, according to multiple Arabic language reports.

Sources within the Gaza-based terror group were cited by Arab media outlets – including the Saudi state-owned news channels Al Arabiya and Al Hadath – as saying that Hamas had succeeded in locating the bodies of three more captives, with a handover slated for Sunday evening.

Reports from inside Gaza on Sunday claimed that Hamas terrorists were spotted in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, escorting a search and rescue team from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The neighborhood is under IDF control under the terms of the ceasefire deal.

However, Israel has agreed to permit Hamas forces to enter the area to assist Red Cross teams in locating and recovering the remains of slain hostages.

Eleven slain hostages remain in the Gaza Strip, despite the Gaza ceasefire deal obligating Hamas to return all hostages – dead and alive – by October 13.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted on Sunday that Hamas has repeatedly misrepresented remains handed over to Israel, calling the actions “pathetic” attempts to deceive Israel.

“Their attempts are pathetic, trying to mislead us, the US, and the world; they will, of course, not succeed, and we will gradually bring back all of our hostages. We are committed to this,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly government meeting on Sunday.

Hamas turned over three coffins carrying human remains on Friday.

However, Israeli forensics examiners at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine said Saturday that none of the remains belonged to any of the 11 missing hostages.

The Gaza terror group last month also transferred the body of a Palestinian man dressed in an IDF uniform, claiming the body belonged to an Israeli soldier.

In another instance, Hamas claimed it had handed over the body of a missing hostage, when in fact the remains were identified as belonging to a slain Israeli captive, most of whose body was recovered by Israeli forces in 2023.