Overview
- Israel said Red Cross personnel transferred a coffin inside Gaza to its forces, with the remains headed to the National Centre of Forensic Medicine for identification before families are notified.
- The International Committee of the Red Cross said it facilitated the handover as a neutral intermediary at the request of the parties and was not involved in recovering the body.
- Before Tuesday’s transfer, three deceased hostages were believed to remain in Gaza — Israelis Ran Gvili and Dror Or and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak — and officials cautioned that identification is pending.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called the delay in returning the remains a violation of the ceasefire and demanded the immediate return of all remaining deceased hostages.
- Since the Oct. 10 ceasefire began, militants have returned the bodies of 25 hostages and all living captives, while Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and about 330 Palestinian bodies, with Gaza officials saying only 95 returned bodies have been identified due to DNA shortages.