JERUSALEM, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Wednesday night received the bodies of two hostages handed over by Hamas through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister's office said.
The two coffins would be escorted into Israel for forensic identification in Tel Aviv, the office statement said.
The handover came after Israel warned it could further restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza if Hamas failed to release all remaining 28 bodies of hostages.
Israel said that forensic examination found one of the eight bodies handed over by Hamas on Monday and Tuesday was not that of an Israeli hostage.
The return of the bodies and 20 surviving captives took place under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in which Israel released about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that the group "has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in its custody, as well as the corpses it could access." It said that to recover the remaining bodies would require "extensive efforts and special equipment." ■
