Israel says militants in Gaza have handed over to the Red Cross a body believed to be a hostage
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s army said Thursday that militants in Gaza have handed over to the Red Cross a body believed to be a hostage.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 10, the remains of 24 hostages have been returned to Israel. If the latest body turned over is confirmed by Israel to be a hostage, there will still be three more in Gaza that need to be recovered and handed over.
Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each hostage as part of the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of remains received so far is 315.
Hamas has said recovering bodies is complicated by the widespread devastation in Gaza. Israel has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has said the remains were not those of hostages.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13. The further exchanges of the dead are the central component of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered agreement which requires Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating other terms of the deal.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas of handing over partial remains in some instances and staging the discovery of bodies in others.
Hamas has accused Israel of opening fire at civilians and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory. The number of casualties has dropped since the ceasefire took effect, but officials in Gaza have continued to report deaths from strikes, while Israel has said that soldiers have also been killed in militant attacks.
Health officials in Gaza have said identifying the remains handed over by Israel is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.
The ceasefire deal will not move to subsequent phases until all the remains of Israeli hostages are returned.
The next parts of the 20-point plan call for creating an international stabilization force. Its makeup hasn’t been finalized, but diplomats are working to define its role, persuade Arab countries to take part, and win wider international support.
The fragile agreement aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than 69,100 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
