The IDF took custody of the bodies of four hostages on Tuesday night.
The Red Cross collected the four bodies earlier on Tuesday from a private space in Gaza City, the IDF confirmed, following reports that Hamas terrorists would release four more bodies at 10 p.m.
The bodies were transferred to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, where identification procedures will be carried out, the military added. Israel Police issued a statement at approximately 1:15 a.m. Wednesday morning confirming that the bodies arrived at the institute.
Hamas did not announce the names of those being released, and neither the IDF or Hostage and Missing Families Forum have publicized the names.
An Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post that four more bodies are expected to be returned on Wednesday night.
The reports come after Israel announced a reduction in the amount of humanitarian aid and the closure of the Rafah crossing as a punitive measure for Hamas failing to return the bodies of killed hostages.
Hamas only returned four hostage bodies on Monday because the terror group did not take the Gaza ceasefire condition seriously, an Israeli official told N12 the same day. It is only in recent hours that Israel reportedly saw Hamas attempt to locate the hostages.
Hamas withholding bodies, information
Israel has made clear that it will not accept Hamas renegging on the agreement, the official said, speaking after the Palestinian terror group released the bodies of only four of the 24 hostages' remains on Monday.
The family of Gaza hostage Tamir Nimrodi told Israeli media that they have still not been informed on the fate of their son.
Hamas also learned that Israeli intelligence proved Hamas had more information on the bodies than what the terror group previously claimed, according to the official.
The news of further hostage returns follows an Al Arabiya report from earlier in the day about Egypt working in the Gaza Strip to locate the hostage remains.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, in a statement, demanded a meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir after Hamas failed to release all the hostages within the 72-hour timeline stipulated in US President Donald Trump's plan.
"It is unacceptable that the IDF continues to implement the agreement while Hamas is blatantly violating it, and our loved ones are still in Gaza," the forum said.
The families are questioning whether the IDF is still trapped in the misconception of October 6, 2023, and whether it continues to believe Hamas, instead of recognizing that it is a deceitful and despicable terrorist organization planning to hold on to the kidnapped, despite the agreement they signed, the forum shared.