Hamas requests equipment, personnel to help locate dead captives

Hamas' armed wing on Saturday issued statements responding to Israel's announcement that the bodies recently received by Tel Aviv were not those of Israeli captives, calling for support in locating the remaining captives' remains.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram and other platforms that they had offered on Friday to hand over three samples from several unidentified remains; however, Israel demanded the bodies for examination.

The group said it handed over the bodies to "preempt the enemy's claims", likely referring to accusations that Hamas is breaking the ceasefire by not handing over the corpses.

The Qassam Brigades added that it is ready to work on extracting the remaining bodies of Israeli captives, including from areas beyond the 'Yellow Line' currently under Israeli army control. The group urged mediators and the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist in providing equipment and teams for retrieving the bodies.

Israel has blocked heavy equipment for moving rubble from entering Gaza, while also keeping its military in more than 50 percent of Gaza now under its control.

Israel's army said on Saturday morning that the bodies it received from Gaza via the Red Cross on Friday evening were not those of the 11 remaining Israeli captives.

Israel's Army Radio reported on Saturday that Israeli authorities do not consider Friday's handover as a violation of the ceasefire agreement, as they had prior knowledge that the remains may not be those of Israeli captives.

One Israeli source who spoke to the Hebrew-language Ynet news said: "From the beginning, we assessed the probability of the remains belonging to [Israeli] captives as low."