Israel’s military has reported that the Red Cross has successfully retrieved the body of a deceased hostage from the southern Gaza Strip. The military stated that the body is currently en route to IDF troops within the territory.
In a post on X, the IDF urged the public to exercise sensitivity and await official identification, which will be communicated to the families first. The statement also emphasized Hamas’s obligation to return all deceased hostages as per the terms of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.
This development follows an earlier announcement by Hamas that they would hand over the body of an Israeli hostage to the Red Cross. So far, Hamas has returned the bodies of nine hostages who died in Gaza and released all 20 living hostages. In exchange, Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza under the US-brokered ceasefire deal.
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