Al-Qassam hand over bodies of two Israeli captives

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English
30 Oct 2025 23:07

The Al-Qassam Brigades handed over two Israeli captive bodies to the Red Cross as part of the prisoner exchange. Eleven more bodies remain in Gaza.

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Al-Qassam Brigades fighters carry a white bag believed to contain a body, retrieved from a tunnel during a search for the remains of Israeli captives in Hamad City, Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025 (AP)

The Israeli occupation forces announced Thursday evening that they had received the bodies of two captives held in Gaza, handed over by the Red Cross.

Earlier in the day, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, stated that, as part of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, they had delivered the remains of two Israeli captives at 4:00 PM Gaza time.

Two days earlier, Hamas had announced the recovery of the bodies of Israeli captives Amiram Cooper and Saher Baruch. One reportedly found in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, and the other in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Strip.

With the latest handover, 11 Israeli bodies remain in Gaza. Hamas is expected to transfer them once they are located. Israeli estimates claim that there is no confirmed information on at least five of the bodies, meaning they may not be delivered in the near term.

Israeli violations hinder recoveries, deliveries

The Al-Qassam Brigades previously withheld the handover of the two bodies in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, citing heavy aerial bombardments on Gaza despite intensive efforts to recover the remains. The process required limited Egyptian equipment and machinery to enter Gaza to assist with the retrieval.

The brigades emphasized that ongoing Israeli military escalations and violations in Gaza are severely hindering search, excavation, and recovery efforts.

"Any Israeli escalation will delay the recovery of more bodies," the statement warned, stressing that the occupation's actions are obstructing progress in locating and identifying the remains of its deceased.