ISTANBUL

The Palestinian group Hamas handed over the remains of two Israeli hostages to the Red Cross late Thursday under a ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army confirmed.

A military statement said the coffins were transferred by the Red Cross and the bodies were taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for forensic tests.

The Prime Minister's Office confirmed following the identification process that the bodies belonged to the Israeli hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, noting that their families have been informed.

The handover came after Israel killed more than 100 Palestinians in deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip earlier in the week despite the ceasefire.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on Oct. 10 as part of a US-backed peace deal between Israel and Hamas, the group has released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of others, most of them Israelis. However, Israel claimed that one of the bodies received did not match any of its listed captives.

Israeli forces have killed 211 Palestinians and injured 597 others since the ceasefire, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel has tied the start of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire to the handover of all the hostage remains. Hamas says the process requires time due to the massive destruction in Gaza.

Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed more than 68,500 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.