Hamas Gives Israel Another Hostage Body, Vows to Return Rest

AFP/APP

JERUSALEM: Hamas handed over to Israel the remains of one more hostage on Friday night, reaffirming its commitment to returning all deceased captives still unaccounted for under Gaza’s ruins after two years of war.

“Israel received, via the Red Cross, the coffin of a deceased hostage who was returned to its security forces in Gaza and will be identified at a medical analysis centre in Israel,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian militant group has so far returned all 20 surviving hostages and the remains of nine out of 28 known deceased captives, not counting the one handed over Friday night.

In exchange, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and halted the military campaign it launched in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.

Bodies Under Gaza Rubble

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reaffirmed his determination to “secure the return of all hostages,” while his defence minister warned the military would resume operations if Hamas failed to comply.

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad called such warnings “unacceptable pressure tactics.”

“The issue of the bodies is complex and requires time, especially after the occupation changed the landscape of Gaza,” Hamad said in a statement. “We will return the bodies and adhere to the agreement as we promised.”

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Turkey has dispatched a team of specialists to help retrieve remains buried under the rubble but is still waiting for Israeli permission to enter Gaza.

“It remains unclear when Israel will allow the Turkish team to enter Gaza,” a Turkish official told AFP, noting that the mission aimed to locate both Palestinian and hostage remains. A Hamas source said the Turkish delegation was expected to enter by Sunday.

Gaza’s civil defence agency, operating under Hamas authority, reported that more than 280 bodies have been recovered from the rubble since the ceasefire took effect.

Aid Enters Gaza

The ceasefire has brought the war to a halt after two years of suffering — anguish for hostages’ families and severe hardship for Gazans enduring bombardment and hunger.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday it had delivered nearly 3,000 tonnes of food supplies into Gaza since the ceasefire began. However, it warned that reversing famine would take time and urged the reopening of all crossings to “flood Gaza with food.”

Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza includes renewed aid efforts, with international organizations awaiting the reopening of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he entered Gaza on Friday, witnessing convoys carrying food, medicine, tents, and fuel. “We’ve begged for this access for months and finally we’re seeing goods moving at scale,” he said in a video message.

Identifying the Dead

Families of surviving hostages celebrated their return, while others mourned loved ones whose remains were handed back.

“We’ve been waiting for this for so long — two years that we’ve been fighting for him every single day,” said Gal Gilboa Dalal, whose brother Guy was released after two years in Hamas captivity.

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He alleged that Hamas had starved captives for months as part of a propaganda video. “Their bones hurt, their muscles hurt. Their recovery will be very long,” he said.

At Nasser Hospital in Gaza, families searched for relatives among bodies returned by Israel. One, Akram Khalid al-Manasra, said he identified his son “thanks to the birthmark on his nose and his teeth.”

Others continued clearing debris from their destroyed homes. “I’m right under the threat of death. It could collapse at any moment,” said Ahmad Saleh Sbeih, a resident of Gaza City. “But there is no choice.”

The war has killed at least 67,967 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry — figures the United Nations deems credible. More than half of the dead are believed to be women and children.

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.