The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday night that the Israel Defense Forces received a coffin believed to contain the remains of a hostage from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza.
“Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the body of a fallen hostage that was transferred to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza,” Jerusalem said.
After being handed over to Israeli troops inside the Palestinian enclave, the remains were brought to Israel, where they were received in a military ceremony with the participation of the IDF chief rabbi.
The remains were set to be transferred to the Health Ministry’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv for identification.
“All the families of the fallen hostages have been informed, and in this difficult hour our hearts are with them,” the PMO statement continued.
“The effort to bring back our hostages continues uninterrupted and will not cease until the last hostage is returned,” it said. “The public is asked to respect the privacy of the families and to refrain from spreading rumors or information that is not official and verified.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations announced that they would return the body of a hostage to the Jewish state around 8 p.m. local time.
The joint statement by the terror groups claimed the remains were found earlier on Thursday in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza.
Four more bodies were still being held by terrorists, those of three Israelis—Meny Godard, Sgt. Ran Gvili and Dror Or—and of one Thai citizen, Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was working in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release agreement that went into effect on Oct. 13, Hamas terrorists committed to returning for burial 28 bodies they were holding captive.
However, Hamas has slow-walked the return of the deceased hostages, reportedly to avoid its disarmament, which is set to take place in the second phase of the deal with a deployment of international forces.
