(NewsNation) — Israel has identified the remains of three deceased hostages handed over by Hamas overnight, but its military said one body released does not belong to the hostage promised.
Hamas transferred four bodies from the Red Cross to the Israeli Defense Forces overnight, and examinations from Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine found no match between the fourth person and a list of hostages, the military said.
At least 20 deceased hostages have not yet been handed over by Hamas, according to IDF counts.
Demilitarization of Hamas ‘next key step’ in ceasefire: John Bolton
The original framework of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire required Hamas to return all 28 deceased hostages Monday.
Hamas released the bodies Tuesday after Israel threatened to cut aid to Gaza and President Donald Trump warned the group must disarm or face consequences.
The Israeli prime minister’s office slammed the slow-walking of the return process: “We will not compromise on this and we will spare no effort until we return all of the hostages, until the last one.”
Photos: Israeli, Palestinian families celebrate return of hostages, prisoners
Trump: Gaza ceasefire will hold, Hamas will demilitarize
Trump has insisted the fragile deal will press forward to Phase 2, which deals with rebuilding Gaza, determining who will govern it, and the disarmament of Hamas.
While there are questions about how a demilitarization would happen — whether diplomatically or by force — Trump made it clear he will not take no for an answer.
“They’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm,” Trump said. “And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them.”
Trump later said he did not relay that directly to Hamas, but through “my people, at the highest levels.”
“They know I’m not playing games,” he added.
The White House is holding on to hopes of expanding the Abraham Accords, a first-term effort from Trump to expand diplomatic ties between Israel and other territories in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
