Hamas transfers remains of another Israeli hostage under Gaza ceasefire deal

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE, CHANGES DECK

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Palestinian group Hamas returned the remains of another Israeli hostage on Thursday evening under a Gaza ceasefire agreement, Israeli authorities confirmed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said its forces inside Gaza had received the body from Red Cross teams. It said the body will be transferred to Israel, where it will be received in a military ceremony.

An Israeli military statement earlier said that the hostage body was transferred to army forces by the Red Cross teams in southern Gaza.

Hamas said early Thursday that it will hand over the body this evening in the Morag area, north of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Hamas has already released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 27 out of 28, most of them Israelis, since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. Israel, however, claimed that one of the received bodies did not match any of its listed captives.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,700 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.