Israel Receives Coffin Allegedly Containing Hostage's Remains from Gaza

Israel has received a coffin from Gaza, transferred via the Red Cross, which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) state contains the body of one of the three remaining deceased hostages in the territory. The handover occurred in central Gaza on Tuesday afternoon, as reported by the Israeli prime minister's office.\n\nFollowing the transfer, the families of the three deceased hostages were informed. The Israeli prime minister's office released a statement indicating that efforts to return all hostages are ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also warned that it viewed "with severity the delay in the immediate transfer" of the body, stating it constituted a "further violation" of the six-week-old Gaza ceasefire agreement.\n\nEarlier, PIJ and Hamas had announced on Monday that the body of an Israeli hostage had been found in central Gaza. Israeli forces will now transfer the body to Israel's National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.\n\nThe first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement, which began on October 10, stipulated that Hamas would return 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 28 deceased Israeli and foreign hostages within 72 hours. All living hostages were released on October 13 in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.\n\nTo date, the remains of 22 deceased Israeli hostages and three foreign hostages (one Thai, one Nepalese, and one Tanzanian) have been transferred. In return, Israel has handed over the bodies of 330 Palestinians killed during the conflict. The three remaining deceased hostages in Gaza include Israelis Ran Gvili (24) and Dror Or (48), and Thai national Suthisak Rintalak (43).\n\nIsrael has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the bodies. Hamas has maintained that it faces difficulties locating the remains amidst rubble.\n\nThe observed slow progress in the recovery of remains has reportedly impacted the advancement of the second phase of President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. This phase includes provisions for Gaza's governance, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction efforts.\n\nThe deceased hostages were among 251 individuals abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, an event during which approximately 1,200 other people were killed. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 69,770 fatalities, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.