Israel receives remains of another hostage from Gaza

Israel receives another hostage body from Gaza, prime minister's office says

Israel has received the remains of one the last six hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, according to the prime minister's office.

The handover was done by the Red Cross on Friday, AFP reported.

The Israeli military later confirmed that a coffin containing the deceased hostage's body had "crossed the border into the State of Israel" after being delivered by the Red Cross to the army and the Shin Bet security agency in Gaza.

It said the body was being sent to a forensic facility in Tel Aviv for identification.

Earlier in the day, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, had said that it and the armed wing of Islamic Jihad would "hand over the body of one of the occupation's captives, which was found today in the city of Khan Yunis".

The handover took place under the terms of a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal that took effect in October.

At the start of the truce, Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages seized during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.

In exchange, Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in its custody.

Of the 28 deceased hostages that Hamas agreed to hand over under the deal, it has so far returned 22 -- 19 Israelis, one Thai, one Nepali and one Tanzanian -- excluding the latest body.

The last six deceased hostages include five seized on October 7 -- four Israelis and one Thai -- as well as the remains of a soldier who died in combat in 2014 during a previous war in Gaza.

Israel has accused Hamas of dragging its feet in returning the bodies of deceased hostages, while the Palestinian group says the process is slow because many are buried beneath Gaza's rubble.