Israel on Tuesday received the bodies of two unidentified Israeli hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza for two years, the Prime Minister's Office said, reported Xinhua. The coffins were handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza, which transferred them to the Israeli military and Shin Bet security agents inside the enclave. "From there, they will be transferred to Israel," the office said, adding that the bodies will then be taken to the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv. "The effort to return our hostages continues ... and will not cease until the last hostage is returned," it added. Earlier on Tuesday, the National Center of Forensic Medicine completed the identification of another deceased hostage whose body was handed over by Hamas on Monday night. The Israeli military identified him as Tal Haimi, commander of the rapid response team at Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, a community near Gaza that was attacked during the Hamas-led assault on Oct. 7, 2023. It was the latest exchange of captives and bodies under a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, under which all 20 living Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and about 2,000 Palestinian detainees were released by Israel. Israel estimates that the bodies of 28 hostages have been held in Gaza, some of whom were killed before being taken and others who died in captivity. Hamas has so far returned 15 bodies. Meanwhile, Gaza's health authorities said Tuesday that they received the bodies of 15 Palestinians from Israel via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), bringing the total received since the ceasefire to 165. Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza's health authorities, said medical teams would conduct examinations and complete documentation before returning the bodies to their families. He added that the authorities are relying on rudimentary methods to identify the bodies, some of which show signs of "abuse, beatings, handcuffing, and blindfolding." The Israeli army has not commented on this. The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when a surprise attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. The ensuing Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed 68,229 people and injured another 170,369, according to Gaza's health authorities. Despite the ceasefire, 87 Gazans have been killed and 311 injured since Oct. 11, according to the health authorities. Under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10, the first phase includes partial Israeli troop withdrawals, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and a significant increase in aid deliveries to Gaza.