Israel said the Red Cross has received the remains of three hostages in Gaza and they will be handed over to Israel's military. A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on October 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza. Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren't of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation. Israel's military said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first. Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.

Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has posted photos of remains in the hope that families will recognise them. It is unclear if the Palestinians returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war. The exchange has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire.