Israel receives remains of 2 more hostages as military says another body was not that of a hostage

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel received the remains of two more hostages on Wednesday, hours after the Israeli military said that one of the bodies previously turned over was not that of a hostage. The confusion added to tensions over the fragile truce that has paused the two-year war.

The coffins carrying the remains were transferred by the Red Cross from the terrorist group Hamas. Upon returning to Israel, they were sent to a forensic lab in Tel Aviv. The military, in a statement, cautioned that the hostages’ identities had yet to be verified.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said it received 45 more bodies of Palestinians from Israel, another step in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. That brought to 90 the total number of bodies returned to Gaza for burial. The forensics team examining the remains said they showed signs of mistreatment.

As part of the deal, four bodies of hostages were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday, following four on Monday that were returned hours after the last 20 living hostages were released from Gaza. In all, Israel has been awaiting the return of the bodies of 28 hostages.

The Israeli military said forensic testing showed that "the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages." There was no immediate word on whose body it was.

In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Monday.

Israel is expected to turn over more bodies, though officials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned. It is unclear whether the remains belong to Palestinians who died in Israeli custody or were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops. Throughout the war, Israel’s military has exhumed bodies as part of its search for the remains of hostages.

The ceasefire plan introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump had called for all hostages — living and dead — to be handed over by a deadline that expired Monday. But under the deal, if that didn’t happen, Hamas was to share information about deceased hostages and try to hand them over as soon as possible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel “will not compromise” and demanded that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal about the return of hostages’ bodies.

Trump, in an interview with CNN, warned that Israel could resume the war if he feels Hamas isn't upholding its end of the agreement.

“Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word," Trump said.

Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement Wednesday that the group honored the ceasefire’s terms and handed over the remains of the hostages it had access to.

Hamas has assured the U.S. through intermediaries that it is working to return dead hostages, according to two senior U.S. advisers. The advisers, who were not authorized to comment publicly and briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said they do not believe Hamas has violated the deal.

The widespread destruction in the territory has complicated the retrieval of the dead, the officials added. One of the advisers said debris and unexploded weapons add to the difficulty.

Hamas has told mediators that some bodies are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.

This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel. During a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, who were among those taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 abducted.

Testing in February 2025 showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman. Bibas’ body was returned a day later.

The World Food Program said its trucks began arriving in Gaza after the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza was paused for two days due to the exchange on Monday and a Jewish holiday on Tuesday.

The timing of the scaled-up deliveries — which are part of the ceasefire deal — had been called into question after Israel said Tuesday that it would cut the number of trucks allowed into Gaza, saying Hamas was too slow to return the hostages' bodies.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel, and medical supplies were bound for Gaza on Wednesday. The Israeli defense body overseeing humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, declined to comment on the number of trucks expected to enter Gaza.