The Israeli military has confirmed the receipt of a coffin from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, purportedly containing the remains of a hostage.
According to Hamas’s armed wing, the body was discovered in Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza, on Friday. The remains have been transferred to Israel through the Red Cross for identification procedures.
Prior to this handover, Hamas had released all 20 living hostages and 22 of 28 deceased hostages as part of the initial phase of a ceasefire agreement that commenced on October 10. Of the six remaining dead hostages in Gaza, five were Israeli nationals and one was Thai.
Israeli officials have expressed criticism regarding Hamas’s failure to return all bodies. Hamas has cited the difficulty in locating them amidst the rubble.
During the US-brokered ceasefire’s first stage, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners held in its jails, along with 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
In exchange for the bodies of 19 Israeli hostages recovered from Hamas, Israel has also transferred the remains of 285 Palestinians. This exchange included the remains of three foreign hostages: one Thai, one Nepalese, and one Tanzanian national.
The agreement also entailed an increase in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, and a cessation of hostilities. However, instances of violence have occurred, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms of the deal.
Israel initiated airstrikes following accusations that Hamas fighters were responsible for the deaths of two Israeli soldiers on October 19 and another soldier on October 28. Hamas has stated it was unaware of any clashes in the area of the first incident and denied any involvement in the second attack.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are generally considered reliable by the UN, Israeli military actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 241 people since the ceasefire’s commencement.
The Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza was launched in response to the October 7, 2023, attack, where Hamas-led militants killed approximately 1,200 individuals in southern Israel and abducted 251 others. All but one of the deceased hostages still in Gaza were taken during this attack.
The health ministry reports that at least 68,875 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then.
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The decision is a reversal of the original policy which only supported the evacuation of the students themselves.
Israel said the teams have been permitted to search beyond the so-called “yellow line” in the area controlled by its forces in Gaza.
Humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher talk to the BBC about scenes of despair he witnessed on a recent trip to the costal enclave.