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Israeli military receives bodies of four hostages, escorts them to Israel

The IDF did not disclose the names of the deceased hostages

TEL AVIV, October 13. /TASS/. The Israeli military has received the bodies of four hostages Hamas has handed over under the Gaza ceasefire deal via the Red Cross, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

"Four coffins of deceased hostages are currently being escorted by IDF and ISA (Israeli Security Agency - TASS) forces on their way to Israel, where they will be transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification procedures," it said.

The IDF did not disclose the names of the deceased hostages and called on "the public to act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be communicated to the families of the deceased hostages."

Earlier on Monday, Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has announced the names of four deceased hostages whose bodies it planned to hand over to Israel during the day.

The Israeli side expressed resentment that Hamas is returning only four out of 28 bodies of deceased hostages. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of failing to implement its commitments under the deal and warned that any delay or deviation from fulfilling obligations will be deemed a gross violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and will entail an appropriate response.