Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including a mother and her two children who had long been presumed dead.
As Red Cross vans arrived in the Gaza Strip, the militants displayed four black coffins on stage surrounded by flags.
The fighters then transported the coffins to Red Cross vans, where officials wearing red vests wrapped them in white sheets before placing them inside.
The convoy returned to Israel, where authorities would identify the remains.
The Israeli military held a short funeral ceremony after receiving coffins from Hamas.
After the prayers, the remains were transported to a laboratory in Israel where they will undergo DNA testing, which could take up to two days. Only then would there be an official confirmation of the deaths.
Thousands of people, including large numbers of masked and armed fighters from Hamas and other factions, gathered at the handover site on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Israelis have celebrated the return of 24 living hostages in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that paused over 15 months of war.
But the handover on Thursday will provide a grim reminder of those who died in captivity as the talks leading up to the truce dragged on for over a year.
