‘Israel’ receives remains of Gaza captive: PM office

• ‘Israel’ confirmed receiving the remains of one deceased captive from Hamas via the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening.
• The handover came after Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced it found the body near the Shujaiya neighborhood.

‘Israel’ announced late Tuesday that its forces in the Gaza Strip received the remains of a deceased captive from Hamas via the Red Cross.

A statement from the ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister’s Office said, “Israel received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of one of the hostages who died, which was delivered to a force from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet inside the Gaza Strip.”

The statement added that the remains would be transferred to the forensic medicine institute for formal identification.

Handover Follows Hamas Announcement

Earlier on Tuesday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, had announced it would hand over the body of a deceased ‘Israeli’ captive to the Red Cross on Tuesday evening. The body was reportedly found in the Shujaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.

In a subsequent statement, Al-Qassam clarified that its crews, accompanied by Red Cross staff, found the body after a search and excavation operation inside the Yellow Line – the areas currently under ‘Israeli’ military control.

Context of Remains and Captive Count

A source within Hamas told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that "a number of bodies of Palestinian martyrs were found under the rubble, alongside the remains of the Israeli captive."

Hamas had previously been holding 48 captives in Gaza, including 20 who were alive at the time of the last confirmed count.

Hamas has returned all living captives and the bodies of 20 deceased captives.

If the forensic institute confirms the identity of the ‘Israeli’ captives whose remains were handed over today, the Palestinian group will have returned 21 bodies, with seven bodies of soldiers believed to still be in the Gaza Strip.

The delay in handing over the bodies has prompted anger from the ‘Israeli’ government, which has accused Hamas of stalling.

Hamas, however, maintains that the process is slow because the remains are often buried under rubble and has repeatedly called on mediators and the Red Cross to provide the necessary equipment and personnel for extraction.