Body of deceased hostage arrives in Tel Aviv for identification, Israeli police say

People walk past posters of hostages kidnapped during the Hamas-led October 7
By Billy Stockwell, Eugenia Yosef and Tal Shalev, CNN
(CNN) — Israeli police said Monday that a coffin carrying the apparent remains of a deceased hostage had arrived in Tel Aviv for identification amid diplomatic efforts in the region aimed at pushing forward the next phase of the Trump administration’s ceasefire plan.
“The casket of the released deceased hostage, escorted by Israel Police forces, has arrived at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, where the identification process will continue,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the deceased hostage had crossed the border into Israel after being retrieved by the Red Cross in Gaza and then transferred into the custody of Israeli forces in the war-torn territory.
The IDF asked the public to “act with sensitivity and wait for official identification, which will first be communicated to the families of the deceased hostages.”
It also called on Hamas earlier to “take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.”
Under the ceasefire agreement signed on October 9, Hamas was supposed to return all the living and deceased hostages within the first 72 hours of the ceasefire going into effect. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas has said “significant efforts and special equipment” are needed to recover the bodies in Gaza after two years of war caused significant destruction in the territory.
Before Monday’s announcement, Hamas had returned 12 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages agreed to be released in line with the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
All 12 of those bodies have now been formally identified, the latest of which was identified Sunday as Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri.
One of the bodies handed over by Hamas under the ceasefire agreement last week did not belong to an Israeli hostage, according to the Israeli military.
Initial assessments at the time suggested Hamas misidentified the body rather than intentionally sending the wrong one, an Israeli source said.
The latest news comes after the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza appears to have survived its first major test over the weekend – with both Hamas and the Israeli military accusing the other of violations – and amid anxiety in Israel over the delayed release of deceased hostages.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said Monday that the ceasefire agreement, including the return of all deceased hostages, must be fulfilled “one way or another,” according to a Knesset spokesperson.
Diplomatic push continues
On Sunday, Israel and Hamas affirmed their commitment to the Trump administration’s ceasefire deal after Israel accused Hamas of carrying out an attack that killed two IDF soldiers, prompting waves of airstrikes.
The ceasefire deal’s key architects, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner held lengthy meetings with senior IDF generals in Tel Aviv on Monday to discuss ceasefire arrangements in Gaza, an Israeli source with knowledge on the matter told CNN.
The source said the meetings took place in the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, during which Witkoff and Kushner met with the IDF’s head of Intelligence Directorate, Major General Shlomi Binder, and the head of the Planning Directorate, Major General Eyal Harel.
Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and the Prime Minister’s military secretary, Major General Roman Gofman, also participated, according to the source.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Dana Karni contributed to this report.
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