Israel receives remains of another hostage from Gaza

Jerusalem: Israel has received the body of another hostage via the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed in a statement.

The remains were handed over to the Israeli military and Shin Bet security forces inside Gaza on Thursday night. The body will be transferred to Israel for identification, the statement added.

The transfer was conducted as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on Thursday, both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced they would return the body, which had been discovered earlier in the day in the Morag area, north of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The identity of the deceased has not yet been disclosed.

Prior to this handover, Hamas had returned the remains of 24 hostages under the current truce. If the latest body is identified as one of the missing, three more hostages’ remains are still expected to be returned.

The ceasefire, which began on 10 October, has significantly reduced Israeli military operations in Gaza, though not entirely halted them. Since 11 October, at least 260 Palestinians have been killed and 632 injured by Israeli fire, according to Gaza’s health authorities. The total death toll from Israeli strikes since October 2023 now stands at more than 69,187.

(Inputs from IANS)