Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that the remains of three hostages have been returned from Gaza amid a continuing ceasefire.

A statement from the prime minister’s office confirmed that “Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the coffins of 3 fallen hostages,” which were handed over to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) team within the Gaza Strip. This information was shared through a statement released online.

The returned bodies will be brought to Israel, where they will undergo a formal military ceremony. Subsequently, they will be sent to the Health Ministry’s National Center of Forensic Medicine for further examination. Families of the deceased will be informed following the completion of the identification process.

“All families of the hostages have been informed, and our thoughts are with them during this challenging time. We remain committed to bringing our hostages home and will persist in our efforts until each one is safely returned,” the statement further expressed.

According to a report by The Associated Press, Hamas indicated that the bodies were discovered in a tunnel located in southern Gaza on Sunday.

Before Sunday’s handover, the bodies of 11 deceased hostages were reportedly still in Gaza, after Hamas released 17 hostage remains since the ceasefire took effect early last month, according to the AP.

Hamas has released one or two bodies every couple of days, which has threatened the shaky ceasefire, since Israel has urged the militant group to speed up the body retrieval. Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the remains of each hostage, the AP said.

Hamas officials have said widespread devastation and lack of access to DNA kits have slowed the process of returning the bodies.