The handover of the remains of the dead hostages may, however, "take some time, since some of the bodies were buried in destroyed tunnels during the occupation, while others remain under the rubble of buildings that were bombed and demolished", the statement said.
Remains of 19 people who were taken hostage or killed during Hamas and other Islamic groups' attack on October 7, 2023 are still missing.
Israel demands that all those taken hostage or killed be handed over to Israel as part of phase one of the peace agreement and has threatened to otherwise resume the fighting in Gaza.
