JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Sunday announced that the remains of three hostages had been handed over from Gaza and would be examined by forensic experts, as a fragile month-old ceasefire held.

A Hamas statement earlier said the remains were found Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants had released the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 remaining in Gaza, before Sunday’s handover.

Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains aren’t of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation.

Israel’s military said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first.

Emotions around the remains have been high among families, who continue to rally weekly. On Saturday night, Moran Harari, a friend of the late Carmel Gat, urged Israel to have restraint.

“This cursed war has taken so many lives of dear people on both sides of the fence. This time, we must not fall into it again,” Harari said during a rally in Jerusalem.

Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians for the return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.

Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinian bodies returned since the ceasefire began have been identified, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has posted photos of remains in the hope that families will recognize them.

It is unclear if the Palestinians returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war, died in Israeli custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war.

The exchange has been the central part of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected.