The Red Cross had handed over the body of another hostage from Gaza to the IDF, Israel said early on Saturday, amid a dispute over delays in the return of remains under the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
The Israeli military and security forces received the coffin from the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip, and it was to be sent to the Ministry of Health’s National Center for Forensic Medicine in Israel. Israeli authorities said the family of the deceased would be notified first after a formal identification process.
The handover came after Hamas’ military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, said the remains were that of an “occupation prisoner”, suggesting that they belonged to an Israeli rather than one of the hostages of several other nationalities also taken in Gaza.
This was the 10th deceased hostage Israel has received out of 28 bodies held in Gaza. Hamas, citing technical problems, has said it needed heavy machinery and excavating equipment to speed up the process of locating bodies buried under rubble.
On Friday, two bulldozers ploughed up the earth as Hamas searched for hostages’ remains in Hamad city, a complex of apartment towers in the city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces repeatedly bombarded the towers during the war, toppling some, and troops conducted a week-long raid there in March 2024.
Turkey sent a team of specialists to help retrieve remains buried under the rubble, but the group was still waiting on Friday for Israeli permission to enter the territory. “It remains unclear when Israel will allow the Turkish team to enter Gaza,” a Turkish official told AFP, noting that the team’s mission included locating Palestinian and hostage remains. A Hamas source told AFP the Turkish delegation was expected to enter by Sunday.
Israel, insisting Hamas knows the whereabouts of the hostages’ bodies, has said the group was running out of time. Hamas has said it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and to handing over the bodies of all remaining hostages.
Israel has returned to Gaza the bodies of 90 Palestinians for burial. Israel is expected to return more bodies, although officials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned.
The dispute over hostage remains has cast a shadow over the ceasefire agreement – the first phase of US president Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.
At a news conference in Ankara, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Israel’s statements about the hostage bodies were worrying. “Will Israel use Hamas’ incapability to locate bodies left under rubble … as an excuse and break the ceasefire? There is concern in the international community over this,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, Hamas called on mediators to push for the next steps under the ceasefire, including reopening the border, letting in aid, beginning reconstruction, setting up an administration and completing Israel’s withdrawal.
Fighting has largely stopped in Gaza under Trump’s plan, endorsed by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. However, Gaza’s Civil Defence Service said on Friday that 11 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle south east of Gaza City, including seven children and three women.
The Israeli military did not comment on the incident, and Hamas again accused Israel of violating on the ceasefire.
The 20 living hostages who were taken by Hamas along with others during its assault on Israel on 7 October 2023 were returned from Gaza earlier this week.
Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to allow Palestinians to move in and out, but gave no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the ceasefire.
Other unresolved elements of the plan include the disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.
With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
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