Bodies of 4 Israeli hostages identified

The bodies of four Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas have been identified, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday on the social media platform X.

Hamas handed over the four bodies to Israel overnight as Israel released hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners from its jails.

Unlike previous transfers, the coffins were delivered to Israeli troops at the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing in southern Gaza through Egyptian mediators, according to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

The four bodies were later identified by Israel's National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv as those of Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, and Shlomo Mantzur.