Hamas hands over bodies of two more Israeli hostages

The Hamas terrorist organization, through the International Committee of the Red Cross, on Tuesday evening returned the remains of two more slain Israeli hostages it had been holding in the Gaza Strip.

After being handed over to Israeli forces by a Red Cross team inside the Strip, the bodies were transferred to the Jewish state and received in a military ceremony, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Following an identification process at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv, the PMO confirmed the hostages’ identities as Aryeh Zalmanovich and Israel Defense Forces Master Sgt. (res.) Tamir Adar.

The Israeli government “shares in the deep sorrow of the Zalmanovich and Adar families and all the families of the deceased hostages,” it said.

Jerusalem “remains determined, committed, and working tirelessly to return all of our deceased hostages for proper burial in their country,” added the PMO.

The PMO emphasized that Hamas must honor its commitments under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal and return the 14 remaining bodies it continues to hold hostage in Gaza, almost 750 days after the terror organization’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.