Hamas on Thursday handed over what it said are the remains of two Israeli hostages as called for in the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

"According to information provided by the Red Cross, two coffins of deceased hostages have been transferred into their custody and are on their way to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip," a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) read.

Identifying the remains, which will be done at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv, could take up to two days, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

Ahead of Thursday's transfer, the militants have handed back the remains of 15 of the 28 deceased hostages they agreed to return.

The issue of returning these remains has repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, with Israel claiming Hamas is engaged in obfuscation and foot-dragging.

Hamas counters that the recovery and retrieval have been made exceedingly difficult by renewed Israeli strikes and the huge amount of rubble that covers the bodies, as well as much of the Gaza Strip.

Israel resumes bombing despite 'renewed enforcement' of ceasefire

Israeli strikes continued Thursday, with IDF forces hammering eastern Gaza. 

Airstrikes were reported east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and tank shelling east of Gaza City in the north. The AP news agency reported that 40 people had been injured in Khan Younis. Other injuries or deaths have yet to be reported. 

Israel said its Thursday strikes were "precise" attacks on "terrorist infrastructure that posed a threat to the troops" Israel has in Gaza. Israeli troops remain inside Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal, deployed at and behind the so-called "yellow line."

Thursday's strikes are the second time in two days that Israel has paused its commitment to a "renewed enforcement of the ceasefire." On Wednesday, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes that Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children.

Israel said Wednesday's airstrikes, the worst since the ceasefire began on October 10, were in retaliation for the killing of one of its soldiers in southern Gaza.

Hamas denied any connection to the soldier's death and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.

Ceasefire fragile but holding

Both the issues of the return of remains and ongoing military operations have weighed heavily on the ceasefire.

Though there is skepticism that the deal can hold, it has managed to dampen some of the brutality that two years of war have wrought on both Gaza and Israel since Hamas-led militants sparked the deadly conflict on October 7, 2023, with attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 abducted. 

After the start of the October 10 ceasefire, Hamas returned the 20 living captives still in its custody and began the process of returning the 28 bodies of deceased hostages.

Edited by Sean Sinico