Israel says it receives remains believed to be of Gaza captive

A set of human remains allegedly belonging to an Israeli prisoner held in Gaza has been returned to Israel, according to Israel.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, “Israel has received the coffin of a fallen hostage” through the Red Cross in Gaza.

One of the three remaining dead captives who is still encircling the besieged Gaza Strip is likely to be the subject of testing to determine whether the remains belong to him.

In order to put an end to Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza, where a tenuous ceasefire is in place despite ongoing Israeli attacks across the region, the United States has arranged for the handover of the remains.

As part of the Israeli-Hamas agreement, which went into effect on October 10, Palestinian armed groups have returned the bodies of 25 captives. Israel has also given Gaza’s authorities access to the bodies of 330 Palestinians.

Because the remains are buried beneath rubble from Israel’s more than two-year war, Hamas claims it was unable to access all of them.

The delay, according to Netanyahu’s office, constituted a ceasefire violation earlier on Tuesday.

Israel has reportedly violated the ceasefire at least 497 times, killing 342 Palestinians, since the ceasefire first came into being, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The majority of those victims are children, women, and the elderly.

As required by the ceasefire, Israel also continues to impose severe restrictions on food, water, fuel, and medical deliveries into the devastated enclave.