‘Israel’ receives Gaza captive body, Netanyahu’s office says

• ‘Israel’ announced it received the body of a deceased captives from Hamas via the Red Cross as part of the cease-fire agreement.
• The body is the 22nd set of remains returned by Hamas, leaving six bodies of soldiers still held, according to the ‘Israeli’ count.

‘Israel’ received the body of a deceased captive from Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as part of the ongoing cease-fire agreement between the two sides, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement.

The truce, which came into effect on Oct. 10, followed two years of devastating assault, which also saw more than 250 taken into Gaza by Hamas.

Handover and Identification Process

The statement from Netanyahu’s office specified that the body, delivered inside a coffin, was handed over to the ‘Israeli’ military and the domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet.

The remains will be transferred to ‘Israel’ where a military reception ceremony will be held before they are taken to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for necessary identification procedures.

Context of Hostage Returns

Under the agreement, Hamas previously delivered the last 20 living captives to ‘Israel’ in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, and also began returning the bodies of deceased captives.

Including the body returned on Wednesday, Hamas has returned a total of 22 bodies of the 28 deceased captives, leaving six bodies of soldiers still held, according to the statement.

‘Israel’ has repeatedly accused Hamas of stalling the return process, while the group attributes the delay to the fact that several bodies are buried under the rubble in Gaza.