IDF soldiers at the ceremony to receive the coffins of four deceased hostages on Feb. 20, 2025. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson.)
Israeli negotiators reportedly accepted the deal knowing that the bodies of some hostages would never be returned.
By World Israel News Staff
Israeli intelligence sources have assessed that Hamas will be unable to return all the bodies of deceased hostages, with estimates suggesting between seven and 15 captives may forever remain unaccounted for.
The assessment follows the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to which the terror group will release all 20 living hostages still held in Gaza, where they have been held captive for the past two years.
In exchange, Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 250 convicted of murdering Israelis.
The exact number of missing deceased hostages varies among intelligence sources. One Israeli official told CNN that between seven and nine bodies are missing, while another source put the number at 10 to 15.
Israeli officials and negotiators were reportedly aware of the issue during the ceasefire talks and agreed to the deal, despite knowing that not all deceased hostages could be returned to Israel.
Some of the missing bodies are believed to be held by independent terror factions unaffiliated with Hamas, complicating efforts to locate and retrieve the remains.
“It’s been the case from the outset that they (Hamas) have not had control over all of the hostages,” Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs under President Joe Biden, told CNN.
According to the report, Israeli officials have known for months that Hamas does not have full knowledge of where all the bodies are located.
Speaking to Israeli journalists earlier this week, a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that “there will be some Ron Arads” even after the ceasefire takes effect.
Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator captured by terrorists after his jet was shot down over Lebanon in 1986, is presumed dead. but his body has never been found.
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