Israel receives bodies of four more hostages from Red Cross in Gaza

Red Cross vehicles transport the bodies of deceased hostages, October 14, 2025.
Reuters

Hamas handed over more bodies of deceased hostages to Israel on Tuesday (14 October), one sign of progress after a number of apparent setbacks in the day since U.S. President Donald Trump touted his plan to end the Gaza war.

The Palestinian armed group handed back 20 living and four deceased hostages on Monday (13 October).

The bodies were returned after Israel announced it would halve the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza as a response to Hamas allegedly violating its agreement to transfer remains under last week’s ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated they were reasserting control in Gaza by deploying hundreds of security forces in the streets and executing several people they accused of collaborating with Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump called it the "historic dawn of a new Middle East" in a speech to Israel’s parliament, as Israel exchanged the last 20 living hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.

So far, Hamas has handed over eight coffins of deceased hostages, leaving at least 19 presumed dead and one unaccounted for in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it received four coffins from the Red Cross at a meeting point in northern Gaza Strip. Those coffins, escorted by Israeli forces, crossed the border into Israel shortly before midnight and were being taken for forensic identification, the Israeli military said.

Hamas also confirmed the transfer.

“At this moment, the men are continuing to oversee the implementation of what was agreed upon regarding the handover of bodies as part of the agreement to end the war in Gaza,” Hamas spokesperson in Gaza Hazem Qassem on Facebook.

It was not immediately clear if the handing over of bodies was sufficient for Israel to restore a full complement of aid deliveries.

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