ISTANBUL
The Palestinian group Hamas handed over the remains of another Israeli hostage to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) late Tuesday under its ceasefire agreement with Israel.
A statement by the Israeli military said a coffin of a deceased hostage had been transferred to the ICRC and was on the way to Israeli troops in Gaza.
Later, the Israeli Prime Ministry confirmed that the body of Israeli soldier Staff Sgt. Itay Chen was returned and his identification had been completed.
"The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Chen family and all the families of the fallen hostages," it said in a statement.
Hamas earlier said that it would transfer the body after it had recovered it from the rubble east of Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood within the designated "yellow line.”
The “yellow line” is the first withdrawal line outlined in the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Oct. 10. It separates areas still under Israeli military control in the east from those where Palestinians are permitted to move in the west.
Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 21 out of 28 deceased captives, most of them Israelis, under the ceasefire deal, according to the group.
Israel, however, previously claimed that one of the bodies received did not match any of its missing captives.
Israel has tied the start of negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire to the handover of all the hostage remains. Hamas says the process requires time due to the massive destruction from Israel’s two-year offensive in Gaza.
Phase one of the deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Israel has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.
*Diyar Guldogan contributed to this story from Washington, DC