Israeli official: Hamas uses hostage remains to prolong ceasefire

Hamas could return the bodies of eight more Israeli hostages at any moment, a senior Israeli official told Ynet, while acknowledging that the whereabouts of the remains of five other hostages are apparently unknown even to the militants.

The delay in transferring the bodies to Israel is believed to stem from Hamas’s desire to prolong the ceasefire and prevent the transition to a second phase, which would require disarmament as demanded by the US administration. Based on available information, Gaza is currently holding the remains of 13 hostages.

On the evening of October 13, 2025, the bodies of Guy Ilouz, Bipin Joshi, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Peretz were received by Israeli authorities. 

The following day, October 14, Hamas returned four more bodies. During the examination, it was confirmed that, along with the remains of three Israelis — Tamir Nimrodi, Uriel Baruch, and Eitan Levy — the body of a resident of the Palestinian Authority was also handed over. 

On October 15, the bodies of Inbar Heyman and Muhammad al-Atrash were returned, followed by the body of Eliyahu Margalit on October 17.

On October 18, the bodies of Thai citizen Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Ronen Engel were handed over to Israel.

On October 20, Tal Haimi’s body was returned, and on October 21, Hamas transferred the bodies of Arye (Zalman) Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar.

Under the terms of the agreement, Israel transfers the bodies of 15 militants to Gaza for each deceased hostage returned.

On October 13, 2025, Hamas released the last 20 surviving hostages. In exchange, Israeli authorities freed approximately 2,000 prisoners, many of whom were deported to Egypt.

Despite these returns, the remains of 13 hostages remain in Gaza, and families continue to demand their return. Protests have taken place, including a rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where families and supporters called for all deceased hostages to be returned.

By Tamilla Hasanova