Israel’s army has confirmed receiving a coffin believed to contain the remains of a hostage from Gaza. According to statements by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the body was recovered in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, and later transferred to Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross for official identification.
Hostage Exchange Developments
Before this latest handover, Hamas had released 20 hostages alive and returned 22 bodies out of 28 as part of the first stage of a ceasefire agreement that began on October 10. Of the six remaining expired hostages, five were Israeli citizens and one was Thai.
Israeli authorities have charged Hamas with delaying the return of the remaining bodies, whereas Hamas claims that numerous bodies are still buried underneath overwhelming rubble caused by airstrikes.
Prisoner and Body Swaps
As part of the U.S.-mediated détente, Israel liberated 250 Palestinian detainees and 1,718 prisoners from Gaza. In return, Israel has, moreover, given over 285 Palestinian bodies in trade for the remains of 19 Israeli hostages and three foreign nationals — one from Thailand, one from Nepal, and one from Tanzania.
The agreement also called for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, a partial Israeli troop withdrawal, and a temporary halt to fighting. In any case, both sides have repeatedly disrupted the delicate calm by blaming each other for violations.
Renewed Battling and Civilian Toll
Israeli forces’ strikes continued after the armed force blamed Hamas warriors for slaughtering two officers on October 19 and another on October 28. Hamas denied involvement in the initial occurrence and said it had no connection to the second.
According to the Hamas-run Wellbeing Service in Gaza, at least 241 individuals have died in Israeli assaults since the ceasefire started. The United Nations generally considers the ministry’s casualty reports credible.
Conflict Background
The latter acceleration dates back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led warriors assaulted southern Israel, slaughtering around 1,200 individuals and taking 251 hostages. That ambush resulted in the capture of nearly all unaccounted-for hostages.
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that Israeli strikes have caused more than 68,800 deaths since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
