Israel confirms identities of three dead hostages returned by Hamas
(MENAFN) Israel has confirmed the identities of three soldiers whose bodies were handed over by Hamas through the Red Cross in Gaza on Sunday. Forensic testing verified that the remains belonged to Col Asaf Hamami, 40, Capt Omer Neutra, 21, and Staff Sgt Oz Daniel, 19, according to government statements.
This leaves eight deceased Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza. Under the first phase of a US-mediated ceasefire, Hamas had agreed to return all 20 living and 28 deceased hostages in its custody. Israel has accused Hamas of intentionally delaying the return of bodies, while Hamas claims it is struggling to locate them under rubble. The slow progress has stalled discussions on the second phase of the ceasefire, including Gaza governance, Israeli troop withdrawal, Hamas disarmament, and reconstruction planning.
Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, reported finding the bodies “along the route of one of the tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip” and handed them to the Red Cross on Sunday night. The remains were transferred to Israeli forces in Gaza and later taken to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.
On Monday, Israel officially confirmed the soldiers’ identities. “The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Hamami, Neutra and Daniel families, and all the families of the deceased hostages,” the statement said. “The Hamas terrorist organisation is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the hostages, every last one of them.”
Col Hamami, commander of the Southern Brigade of the IDF Gaza Division, was among the first to respond to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 and was killed near Kibbutz Nirim before being taken by Hamas. Capt Neutra, an Israeli-American platoon commander in the IDF’s 7th Brigade, died near the Gaza perimeter, and Staff Sgt Daniel, also with the 7th Armoured Brigade, was killed in the same area; both were taken by Hamas.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel expressed its grief, saying it “bows its head in sorrow and shares in the profound grief” of the soldiers’ families. “There are no words to express the depth of this pain. The hostages have no time. We must bring them all home, now!”
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