ISTANBUL

The Israeli army said Monday that the body of another hostage was transferred by the Palestinian group Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza under a ceasefire agreement.

The coffin of the deceased captive is on its way to Israeli troops in the enclave, said a military statement.

Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “Israel has received, via the Red Cross, a coffin containing the remains of a deceased hostage, which was handed over to an IDF (army) and ISA (security agency) force inside the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas earlier said that it would hand over the remains of an Israeli hostage tonight under the ceasefire deal.

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10 under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan. Since then, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 17 out of 28 deceased captives, most of them Israelis. However, Israeli authorities previously claimed that one of the recovered bodies did not match any of its missing captives.

The ceasefire plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has killed over 68,500 people and injured more than 170,300 since October 2023, according to Palestinian authorities.