Israel says one of the returned bodies is not that of a hostage

The Israeli military said that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous day as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of one of the hostages who was held in Gaza, adding to tensions over a fragile ceasefire.

Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday after Israel threatened to cut aid deliveries and close the Rafah crossing.

Hamas said it was working to return all 28 deceased hostages after the 20 living captives returned home.

Just days after a Gaza ceasefire went into effect, its resilience is being tested.

Israel threatened to cut aid trucks going into Gaza by half, from 600 to 300, and close the Rafah crossing, saying Hamas was delaying the return of deceased hostages.

Media reports say five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza City, citing medical sources in al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Israel said troops opened fire on "suspects" approaching its forces by crossing yellow lines that designate IDF-controlled territory.

Then this. The remains of four more hostages are collected by Red Cross vehicles in Gaza.

Israeli police salute the convoy as they return home. Israel decided to go ahead and open the Rafah crossing. It brings to eight the number of bodies returned.

Three of the four have been identified, and seven so far in total, with Israel claiming that one of the bodies was not a hostage.

The latest three are: Uriel Baruch, 35; Tamir Nimrodi, 20; and Eitan Levi, 53.

The World Food Programme director for Gaza, Antoine Renard, said it was "paramount" for all crossings to be opened to allow in the required aid to reach Palestinians.

"Relief is so adamant to reach people," said Renard. "The conditions are so dire in Gaza that (they are) still speaking about access to water, access to food, access to health and access to a shelter is still a priority and sadly, given the condition on the ground they will remain (like that) for, I believe, a long period."

Meanwhile, relatives of released living hostages spoke to the media.

"Gali and Ziv are home" said their brother Iran Berman. "They are safe, alive and back in the arms of our mother, who never stopped believing that this day would come. For 738 days our lives were trapped between hope and fear. Yesterday, that chapter ended. Seeing Gali and Ziv again, holding them after so long was like feeling the world starts to move again."

Anat Angrest, mother of released hostage Matan, said her son is relearning life routines, from the small things such as sitting down to eat with a knife and fork.