Hamas handed over the remains of a deceased hostage on Monday, October 27, as the Palestinian group came under increasing pressure to return its remaining deceased captives as promised under the Gaza ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israeli forces had received a coffin containing what Hamas said was the 16th of 28 bodies of hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The Israeli military and security service were to take the coffin from Gaza to Israel, where it will be received in a military ceremony before being brought to the national forensic institute for identification and eventual return to the hostage’s family.
«All of the hostages’ families have been updated accordingly, and our hearts are with them in this difficult hour. The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned,» the statement said.
Deadline missed
An informed source within Hamas confirmed the handover. «The body of an Israeli captive that was recovered today in the Gaza Strip has been handed over to the Red Cross,» the source told AFP.
The latest exchange came as both senior Israeli officials and an association representing the families of the October 7 hostages demanded that Hamas speed up the transfer, which has slowed since it released its 20 living captives.
«Hamas knows exactly where every one of the deceased hostages is held. Two weeks have passed since the deadline set in the agreement for the return of all 48 hostages, yet 13 remain in Hamas captivity,» the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. «The families urge the government of Israel, the United States administration and the mediators not to advance to the next phase of the agreement until Hamas fulfills all of its obligations and returns every hostage to Israel.»
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem protested that the claim that the group knows the location of the remaining missing bodies is «false,» arguing that Israel’s bombardment during the two-year conflict had left locations unrecognizable. «We affirm our commitment to completing the first phase of the ceasefire agreement to prevent the occupation from finding any pretexts,» he said, referring to Palestinians’ fears that Israel could renew military action despite the truce. «We are determined to hand over the bodies of the Israeli captives as soon as possible,» he said.
