On Thursday, Israeli officials reported that the Red Cross conveyed that “two coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages have been transferred to their care and are en route to IDF personnel within the Gaza Strip.”
In the statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reiterated their insistence on Hamas returning the remains of all hostages who have passed away.
Earlier in the day, Israel announced they had been informed that the Red Cross was heading to a designated location in the central region of the Gaza Strip. Their mission was to collect coffins from Hamas, containing the bodies of those hostages who had died.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the transfer, stating, “The families of all hostages have been notified, and our thoughts are with them during this challenging time. Our efforts to bring back every hostage continue relentlessly until each one is home.”
The office also assured the public that updates would be provided “as necessary.”
Red Cross vehicles arrived to collect the bodies of deceased hostages from Hamas militants in Gaza. These hostages had been detained since the violent events of October 7, 2023. This transfer is part of a ceasefire and a hostages-for-prisoners exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, taking place in Gaza City on October 14, 2025. (Photo by Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
On Tuesday, Fox News learned that a coffin handed over to Israel was assessed to contain the remains of a hostage whose body was already brought back to Israel for burial. The remains were later determined to be those of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was first recovered in 2023.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that some of Tzarfati’s remains were returned in March 2024 and that in August 2024, Hamas published a photo of his body.
“This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” Tzarfati’s family said in a statement. “The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.”
The kidnapped poster of Ofir Tzarfati, who was recently declared killed and kidnapped, is seen at a memorial display of photos of people killed during Hamas’s attack on the Super Nova festival at the site on Nov. 30, 2023 in Re’im, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
If the two coffins are confirmed to remain deceased hostages, there will still be another 11 whose remains are still in Gaza, possibly including two U.S. citizens, Itay Chen and Omer Neutra. So far, Israel has received the remains of 15 of the 28 deceased hostages.
The hostages whose remains have been returned include Aryeh Zalmanovich, Master Sergeant (Res.) Tamir Adar, Staff Sgt. Tal Haimi, Suntaya Akrasi, Ronen Tommy Engel, Eliyahu Margalit, Uriel Baruch, Staff Sgt. Tamir Nimrodi, Eitan Levi, Daniel Peretz, Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illuz, Bipin Joshi, Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Muhammad Al-Atresh.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
