Israel expects Hamas to hand over more hostage remains amid extended truce

Israeli security officials have announced that there are “indications” Hamas intends to return the bodies of two additional hostages on October 30. 

The transfer is expected to take place during an extended ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to sources cited by the Hebrew-language news outlet Detaly.co.il.

The development follows a Tuesday announcement by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, claiming it had successfully recovered the bodies of two Israeli civilians abducted on October 7, 2023: Amiram Cooper, 85, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Saar Baruch, 25, from Kibbutz Be’eri.

The announcement came one day after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed a 48-hour extension of the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, now set to expire at 6:00 a.m. local time on Friday, November 1. The pause, initially brokered on Monday, has allowed limited aid convoys into northern Gaza and facilitated the return of several hostage remains.

The return of Cooper and Baruch’s bodies would mark the third such transfer since the current truce began. On Monday, Hamas handed over the remains of Yaron Avraham (Kibbutz Kfar Aza) and Maya Goren (Kibbutz Nir Oz), both confirmed dead in captivity by Israeli forensic teams.

Israeli officials have cautiously welcomed the returns but stress that no living hostages have been released under the current arrangement. As of October 30, 97 hostages remain unaccounted for from the October 7 attack, with the IDF estimating 54 are still alive and 43 confirmed or presumed dead.

By Khagan Isayev