Baghdad: An Israeli military source announced that the army received three unidentified bodies from the Gaza Strip through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but does not believe they belong to hostages.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the source told AFP, “We still do not know if the bodies returned are those of hostages,” confirming earlier reports that Israeli authorities had received three bodies from the Red Cross.

The source added, “According to our intelligence, we do not believe they are the bodies of hostages, and we have transferred them to the forensic laboratory” to determine their identities.

Earlier on Friday, the ICRC said in a statement that its teams “facilitated the transfer of the bodies of three deceased individuals to the Israeli authorities last night.”