ISTANBUL

Israel said Wednesday that it has received the bodies of two more Israeli hostages that were handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza in the latest transfer carried out under a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group.

A statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “Israel has received, through the Red Cross, two coffins of deceased hostages that were delivered to IDF (army) and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip,” according to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “two coffins of deceased hostages have been transferred into their custody and are on their way to IDF (army) and ISA (security agency) forces in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas earlier confirmed that it would hand over the remains of two more Israeli captives in Gaza on Wednesday night at 10 pm local time (1900GMT) under the new ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. Phase one of the deal came into force last Friday.

Under the deal, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.