Red Cross convoy carrying the remains of a person believed to be a deceased captive handed over by Gaza militants makes its way toward the border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday. AP
Before this latest handover, the remains of three deceased captives were still being held in the Gaza Strip, two Israelis and one Thai national.
Hamas has been handing over the remains of captives as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel that came into force early last month.
"Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of a fallen hostage," handed over to the Israeli military and security services inside the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
"It will then be transferred to the Health Ministry National Centre of Forensic Medicine. Upon completion of the identification process, formal notification will be delivered to the family," he added.
"The families of the fallen captives have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour," the statement read.
"The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned," Netanyahu added.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed it had "facilitated the transfer of one deceased to Israeli authorities, acting as a neutral intermediary".
"This was done at the request of the parties, and with their agreement," the ICRC said, adding that it was not involved in the recovery of the deceased.
- Fragile truce -
A source in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, confirmed the remains belonged to one of the last three captives held by militants in the territory.
Islamic Jihad's armed wing said it had located the body of a captive on Monday during search operations in the central Gaza Strip.
At the start of the ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, militants were holding 20 living captives and 28 bodies of deceased captives.
All the living captives have since been released, while Israel awaits the remains of the last dead captives.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeatedly violating the terms of the ceasefire.
Since the war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, Israel has killed at least 69,775 people, most of them women and children, with over 170,000 others injured, according to figures from the Palestinian health ministry.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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