Israel has received a coffin, identified by Hamas as containing the body of a deceased hostage from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have taken the coffin into Israel for forensic testing to confirm the identity of the remains. If the tests confirm the body belongs to a hostage, this would bring the total number of deceased hostages returned to 16 out of the 28 previously held by Hamas before the recent ceasefire.
The handover occurred after Israel permitted a Hamas member, under IDF supervision, to assist Red Cross and Egyptian teams in their search for the remaining hostages within Gaza. This development follows accusations from Israel that Hamas has breached the ceasefire agreement by failing to return all bodies.
Hamas maintains its commitment to the deal, citing difficulties in locating remains due to the extensive damage and rubble caused by the ongoing conflict. The group has stated that some individuals who knew the burial sites have been killed or cannot recall the locations.
The Israeli government, through spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian, confirmed that additional equipment, including excavators and lorries, is being provided to aid the search efforts. Previously, 20 living Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, alongside the bodies of 13 Israeli hostages and two foreign nationals.
Families of the hostages have urged the Israeli government and international mediators to halt further progress in any agreement until all obligations are met, expressing concern over the administration’s potential move to the next phase of the agreement without all hostages being accounted for. Hamas’s chief negotiator highlighted challenges in finding the bodies due to altered terrain and the loss of information from those who buried the deceased.
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