Israel has received the bodies through the Red Cross which handed them over to the Israeli occupation army and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip, the Israeli prime minister's office said, adding the remains would be transferred to a forensic medical centre for identification in Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced it would hand over the bodies of three more Israelis on Sunday at 8:00 pm Gaza time (1800 GMT).

Since the truce began, the Palestinian resistance group has released 20 surviving captives and started returning the remains of 28 individuals killed during Israel’s genocidal bombardment of Gaza, which began in October 2023.

Following the latest handover, Hamas has so far returned 20 out of the 28 bodies.​

Under the terms of the truce, Israel is required to return the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every Israeli remain. Israel has returned 225 Palestinians' bodies to Gaza so far, many of whom show clear signs of mistreatment and torture that likely contributed to their deaths.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has violated the truce multiple times since it came into effect on 10 October. In its latest breach, the Israeli army confirmed it carried out an airstrike in Gaza on Sunday.

At least 236 Palestinians have been killed and 600 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the truce began, the Gaza Health Ministry reported.

Gaza’s Civil Defence agency recovered the remains of two more Palestinians from under the rubble of a collapsed building in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of western Gaza City as it continues to search for victims of Israel's two-year genocide.

Israel has, however, restricted the entry of heavy machinery needed to recover bodies, both Israeli and Palestinian, from under the rubble.

Since 7 October 2023, Israel has killed around 69,000 Palestinians in Gaza and injured more than 170,000 others, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

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