Israel confirms returned remains are not the missing hostages while key Gaza crossing set to reopen

Israel said on Wednesday that partial remains handed over by militants did not belong to the hostages still held in Gaza, even as it announced plans to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to leave the territory. The unresolved fate of two hostages threatens to stall the first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, yet the decision to open Rafah signalled that parts of the US-backed plan were still progressing.

The first phase is intended to conclude with the return of the two remaining hostages. Palestinian militants, who appear to be struggling to locate the bodies within the ruins of Gaza, said on Wednesday that they had resumed their search. Under the 20-point plan agreed after the exchanges, the next steps include establishing an international stabilisation force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas. The World Health Organization has said that more than 16,500 sick and wounded people require evacuation from Gaza for medical treatment.

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Palestinian death toll surpasses 70,000 since war began, with more than 300 killed after ceasefire: Reports Israel says presumed remains 'not linked' to dead Gaza hostages

Search for the missing remains

Two hostages’ bodies remain unaccounted for: Israeli national Ran Gvili and Thai worker Sudthisak Rinthalak. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday that forensic tests confirmed the remains returned the previous day matched neither individual. Saraya al Quds, the military arm of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said its militants had moved on Wednesday morning to northern Gaza to continue the search and were accompanied by Red Cross workers.

Gvili, an Israeli police officer, helped festival goers flee the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 before being killed while fighting at another site. His death was formally confirmed four months later. He is survived by his parents and sister. Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand employed at Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities hardest hit in the attack. Media reports state he had worked in Israel since 2017.

At least 31 Thai workers were abducted, the largest group of foreign nationals held captive, and most were released during the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said that 46 Thai citizens have been killed during the war.

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Israel says presumed remains 'not linked' to dead Gaza hostages

Since the ceasefire began in early October, 20 living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to Israel, while both Hamas and Israel have accused each other repeatedly of violating the truce.