Hamas hands over another Israeli hostage’s remains as Gaza ceasefire exchanges continue
Hamas handed over another coffin with the remains of an Israeli hostage to the Red Cross, who in turn delivered the body to Israeli officials, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.
The Red Cross brought the coffin to Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed. The remains are set to be transferred into Israel, where a military rabbi will perform a military ceremony, Netanyahu’s office added.
Following the ceremony, the National Center of Forensic Medicine will conduct an identification process, and then the hostage’s family will receive notification.
Hamas earlier said that it found the body of an Israeli soldier who had been held hostage in Gaza, Reuters reported. Hamas said the body was found in Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City in an area still occupied by Israeli forces, after Israel granted access to the location for teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
This follows Sunday’s release of the bodies of three Israeli hostages, including American Omer Neutra.
RED CROSS TO RECEIVE ‘SEVERAL COFFINS OF DECEASED HOSTAGES’ IN GAZA STRIP, IDF SAYS
Hamas had agreed per the ceasefire to hand over the remains of 28 dead hostages in exchange for the bodies of 360 Palestinian militants who were killed in the Gaza war.
Before Tuesday, Hamas had released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight remaining in Gaza.
Fox News’ Yael Kuriel, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.