Israel on Monday returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza in the latest step forward for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as a top White House envoy met with Israeli leaders to discuss the next stages of the fragile agreement.

Israel returned the bodies after Palestinian militants released the remains of a hostage Sunday. With the latest exchange, only four bodies of hostages remained in Gaza.

Israel on Sunday confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country.

The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year's war between Israel and Hamas. Goldin's family waged a public campaign for 11 years to bring home his remains. Earlier this year, they marked 4,000 days since his body was taken.

Iran on Monday dismissed accusations by the United States that Tehran had attempted to kill the Israeli ambassador in Mexico, describing it as "absurd".

"We found this claim very ridiculous and absurd," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing, adding that it was part of an attempt "to destroy Iran's friendly relations with other countries".

Two decades ago, Ahmad al-Sharaa was held in a U.S.-run detention center in Iraq after joining al-Qaida militants fighting against American forces there.

Few would have predicted that he would go on to become the first Syrian president to visit Washington since the country's independence in 1946.

Denied contact with his lawyer for months, now freed Palestinian prisoner Shady Abu Sedo said he lost all sense of time while he was held in Israeli jails during the war in Gaza.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country's state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist.

Hamas' armed wing said it would hand over on Sunday the remains of Israeli officer Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed during the 2014 war in Gaza.

The United States has formally removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa from a terrorism blacklist, days before the former jihadist is set to make a landmark visit to Washington.

The United States and Israel on Friday accused Iran of trying to kill Israel's ambassador to Mexico, with Tehran rejecting the claim as a "big lie" and the Mexican government saying it was unaware of the plot.

Turkey announced that it has issued arrest warrants for genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials in his government over the war in Gaza.