The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that Israel received a coffin via the Red Cross in Gaza, purportedly containing the remains of a deceased hostage. Hamas, the Palestinian armed group, claims the coffin holds the body.
Israeli authorities will now transfer the remains to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for official identification.
Earlier reports from Hamas’s military wing indicated the recovery of an Israeli soldier’s body in the Shejaiya neighborhood, located in eastern Gaza City.
Israel permitted Hamas members and Red Cross personnel to conduct a search for the remains within the area, which remains under Israeli forces’ control.
The Israeli government has levied accusations against Hamas, alleging deliberate delays in the recovery of deceased hostages since the US-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect on October 10.
Hamas has stated that locating the bodies amidst the rubble has presented significant challenges.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hamas agreed to return the remaining 20 living and 28 deceased hostages within a 72-hour timeframe.
On October 13, all living Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
In exchange for the bodies of 18 Israeli hostages returned by Hamas prior to Tuesday, along with those of two foreign hostages (one Thai and one Nepalese), Israel has handed over the remains of 270 Palestinians.
Prior to Tuesday, of the eight deceased hostages remaining in Gaza, six were Israeli, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.
With one exception, all of the deceased hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 individuals abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, an assault that resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities.
Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza, which, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, has resulted in over 68,800 deaths.
Earlier on Tuesday, a hospital official in Gaza City reported that a man was killed by Israeli fire in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.
The Israeli military stated that its troops killed a “terrorist” who had crossed the “Yellow Line,” demarcating Israeli-controlled territory, and posed an immediate threat.
The bodies were identified as those of Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
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