Israel identifies two more hostages’ bodies as Vance meets Netanyahu

Israel has completed identification of the bodies of two more hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said, as US Vice President JD Vance held high-level meetings in Israel to nudge forward Gaza’s fragile ceasefire.

Authorities identified the deceased hostages as Arie Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar.

Their bodies were transported in coffins by the Red Cross and handed over to the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.

The two were killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 2023 attack by Hamas militants, which triggered the two-year war.

Since the ceasefire began on October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel.

A further 13 still need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element to the ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, the burial of more than 54 Palestinians is set for Wednesday at a cemetery in Deir al Balah, Gaza.

The bodies were displayed outside Nasser hospital in Khan Younis ahead of burial.

The 50 are among the 165 bodies of Palestinians that Israel has so far handed over.

Mr Vance is meeting Mr Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday.

He is accompanied by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Mr Vance, Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner said on Tuesday that the ceasefire had exceeded expectations but acknowledged flareups of violence in recent days.

Uncertainty remains over the peace plan, including disarming Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, and who will govern the territory.

Mr Vance said on Tuesday that officials were brainstorming on the composition of the security force, mentioning Turkey and Indonesia as countries expected to contribute troops.

Britain is also sending a small contingent of military officers to Israel to assist in monitoring the ceasefire.

Dozens of people, some carrying Palestinian flags, gathered outside the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for funeral prayers over the bodies of 54 Palestinians clad in white shrouds.

The unidentified bodies were among 165 that Israel sent back to Gaza last week. They will be transported to Gaza’s central city of Deir al-Balah for burial.

A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies bore “evidence of torture” and called for an investigation.

Israel has not provided identification for the bodies or explained their origins. They could include Palestinians who died during the October 7 attacks, detainees who died in custody or bodies that were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.

So far, authorities in Gaza have identified 52 of the returned bodies, according to the Gaza health ministry.

A top Palestinian non-governmental organisation that offers mental health services to people in Gaza said on Wednesday that there had been an “armed raid and brutal takeover” of one its facilities in the territory last week.

The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme said an “armed group” it did not identify stormed the facility in Gaza City on October 13, seized the building, expelled guards by force and put up their own families there.

“This blatant attack and serious crime represents a flagrant violation of all laws and norms,” the group said.

It urged Palestinian authorities to act immediately so that the facility was returned to its hands, ensure that patients and staff were protected and to hold those responsible to account “without any delay or leniency”.

It also called on countries sponsoring the ceasefire agreement to “intervene decisively” and prevent actions undermining humanitarian work.

Meanwhile, Israelis were set to bid farewell to a Thai farm worker whose body will be repatriated to his native Thailand later in the day.

Sonthaya Oakkharasri was killed during the October 7 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, and his body was held in Gaza until it was returned last weekend.

A statement by the Families’ Headquarters for the Return of the Abductees said a gathering would be held at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to pay respect to Mr Oakkharasri, calling him a “devoted father and farmer who dreamed of establishing his own farm”.

In the 2023 attack on Israel that started the war, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people as hostages.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.