Israel receives bodies of 3 more hostages

ISRAEL said at the weekend it had received the remains of three additional captives from Hamas as part of the ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement for Gaza.

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Despite occasional flareups, a fragile truce has held in Gaza since October 10 under a deal focused on the return of all Israeli hostages, both living and dead.

"Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffins of three fallen hostages that were handed over to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip," the prime minister's office said.

An Israeli health ministry spokesperson said later that their bodies had arrived at a national forensic centre "for identification and investigation into the circumstances and cause of death".

Experts from the centre would then meet with the families of the deceased "to discuss and elaborate on the findings", the spokesperson said.