ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Saturday that the army and Shin Bet security service received the remains of an Israeli prisoner from the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip, bringing the number of hostages’ bodies retrieved to 11.

“IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip received the coffin of a slain hostage (the remains of an Israeli prisoner) via the Red Cross,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

It added that the remains will be transferred to a forensic medical center in Israel and that all the families of the deceased hostages have been informed.

The announcement came after Hamas confirmed that it exhumed and handed over the body of an Israeli captive Friday, under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Earlier this week, Hamas said it had already released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over 10 bodies, noting that efforts were continuing to locate and recover the remaining 17 bodies in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Tel Aviv believes one of the bodies handed over via the International Committee of the Red Cross did not belong to an Israeli captive.

The exchange is part of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement brokered under US President Donald Trump’s plan, which took effect Oct. 10.

Under the deal, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,718 detained from Gaza after Oct. 8, 2023.

According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports, more than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, remain in Israeli prisons, where many face harsh conditions, including torture, starvation and medical neglect.