Israel accuses Hamas of handing over three bodies that do not belong to hostages

The remains of three people handed over by the Hamas terrorist group to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip do not belong to any of the dead Israeli hostages. This was stated by the office of the prime minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Associated Press.

The transfer of the remains took place after Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on October 31, completing the exchange. Earlier this week, militants handed over the remains of two hostages.

However, the next day, Netanyahu's office confirmed that the remains of three people did not belong to any of the hostages. It is not yet clear whose remains they are.

Meanwhile, the armed wing of Hamas claims that the day before it offered to hand over samples of unidentified bodies, but Israel refused and asked for the remains to be provided for examination.

"We handed the bodies over to stop the claims of Israel," the terrorists said in a statement.

Medical workers in Gaza have faced difficulties in identifying bodies without access to DNA analysis kits, the media reports.

This situation has become another obstacle to the U.S.-brokered truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, AP notes.

• Earlier, on October 29, the Israeli army announced restoration of the ceasefire in Gaza after retaliatory strikes against militants.