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Israel announced Wednesday that a body returned by Hamas is not one of the deceased hostages — threatening historic efforts to reach peace.
The Jewish State had already accused the terrorist group of not living up to its requirements by only releasing four of the 28 dead hostages on Monday, with only another four handed over on Tuesday.
Now, “following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel Hamas does not match any of the hostages,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. It was not clear whose body it was.
“Hamas is required to make all necessary efforts to return the deceased hostages,” the Israeli military added.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu demanded earlier Wednesday that Hamas fulfill the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal about the return of the hostages’ bodies.
“We will not compromise on this and will not stop our efforts until we return the last deceased hostage, until the last one,” he said.
President Trump also said that the return was key to his widely celebrated deal, making clear it was not done until all 298 were returned.
“THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!!” he said Tuesday.
With Post wires
