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3. Israel says presumed remains 'not linked' to dead Gaza hostages

Israel said on Wednesday that forensic tests showed that the remains retrieved from Gaza the day before were "not linked" to the last two dead hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

In a statement, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "Following the completion of the identification process at the National Center of Forensic Medicine, it was determined that the findings brought yesterday for examination from the Gaza Strip are not linked to any of the fallen hostages."

On Tuesday, Israeli police said they had received the presumed remains of one of the remaining hostages and escorted what they called "the coffin of the fallen hostage" to the forensic center.

Netanyahu's office had said earlier that Israel received "findings" through the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip.

While Hamas released the living hostages it held in Gaza as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel, the process of returning the remains of the deceased captives has dragged on.

The Palestinian militant group has blamed difficulties in finding the remains beneath the sea of rubble created by the war with Israel.

Israel has accused the Palestinian militants of dragging their feet.

All but the bodies of two hostages -- Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak -- have been handed over so far.

A Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday that a team from the group's armed wing and that of fellow militants Islamic Jihad -- accompanied by the Red Cross -- had been conducting search operations for several days in multiple areas, particularly in Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the north of the territory.

The official said "a number of bodies were found" but that there was "no confirmation that any of these bodies found belong to an Israeli prisoner."

The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, remains fragile, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the terms, while the Gaza Strip remains in a deep humanitarian crisis.

Under the first phase of the deal, Palestinian militants have handed over the last 20 living hostages and, so far, the remains of 26 out of 28 deceased ones.
With AFP