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Israel announced on Monday that it received, via the Red Cross, a casket containing the remains of what is believed to be a deceased hostage, which was handed over to an IDF and ISA force inside the Gaza Strip. From there, the casket will be transferred to Israel, where it will be received in a military ceremony with the participation of the IDF Chief Rabbi.
The casket will then be transferred to the Health Ministry National Center of Forensic Medicine. Upon completion of the identification process, formal notification will be delivered to the family.
All of the hostages’ families have been updated accordingly.
The Israeli government requested that the public respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and unofficial and unverified information.
Earlier in the day, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the Hamas terror group has notified the mediators that they can locate the bodies of 7-9 deceased hostages, who are buried under the rubble in Gaza.
The announcement follows Israeli intelligence indicating that Hamas knows the locations of at least eight deceased hostages and can easily retrieve them, but could potentially have difficulty locating the bodies of up to five hostages.
Israel on Sunday approved activities by Hamas terrorists and Red Cross representatives in IDF-controlled areas of Gaza, beyond the “yellow line” to locate the bodies of deceased hostages.
According to Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera, the search teams include Red Cross representatives and Hamas terrorists, and are already operating in Rafah. Now, these teams are expected to expand their operations to Gaza City as well. In addition, Egyptian teams were also allowed to enter the enclave to search for the hostages.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump issued Hamas a 48-hour deadline to make progress, warning: “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.”
He noted, “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now, and, for some reason, they are not.”
“Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”
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