Israel Receives Remains of Hostage Recovered from Gaza
GAZA - Israel received a coffin on Tuesday containing the body of one of the last three hostages believed to have died while held in Gaza, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claim to have located the remains.
Israeli forces will transfer the body to Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification. PIJ and Hamas announced the discovery of an Israeli hostage’s body in central Gaza on Monday.
Netanyahu’s office expressed “severity” regarding the delay in the body’s transfer, calling it a “further violation” of the six-week-old ceasefire agreement. The families of the three deceased hostages have been informed, the office stated, adding, “Our hearts are with them in this difficult hour.” Israel maintains its commitment to securing the return of all remaining hostages.
The handover is part of a phased agreement brokered by the united States, which began on November 24th. Under the initial phase,Hamas agreed to return 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 28 deceased Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza within 72 hours. All living hostages were released by November 29th in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
To date, the remains of 22 Israeli hostages and three foreign nationals - one Thai, one Nepalese, and one Tanzanian – have been recovered.Israel has, in turn, returned the bodies of 330 Palestinians killed during the conflict.
The two remaining Israeli hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza have been identified as Ran Gvili, 24, and Dror Or, 48. The third is Thai national Suthisak rintalak, 43.
Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the bodies, while hamas attributes the delays to difficulties locating the remains amidst rubble.
The slow pace of hostage recovery has stalled progress on the second phase of a potential peace plan, which includes discussions on Gaza’s governance, Israeli troop withdrawal, Hamas disarmament, and reconstruction efforts.
These hostages were originally abducted during the Hamas-lead attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza, where over 69,770 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
