Israel says will ‘spare no effort’ to return all deceased captives

An Israeli government spokesperson on Wednesday said her government expects Hamas to return the bodies of the remaining captives. Only seven of an expected 28 have so far been returned, she said.

“Hamas … is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return all of our hostages as part of the implementation of this agreement,” a spokesperson told reporters.

“We will not compromise on this, and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them,” she added.

Hamas has so far released eight bodies from Gaza, but Israel has said one of the bodies that was returned did not match the captives who still remain in the enclave. But a Hamas source told Al Jazeera the Israeli claim was unfounded and that the body belonged to an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza in May 2024.