GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said Wednesday that they will transfer the remains of an Israeli captive tonight under a Gaza ceasefire deal.

The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that the transfer will take place at 5 pm Gaza time (1500 GMT), adding that the body was located in northern Gaza.

The Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad, said its fighters found the body during search and excavation operations Wednesday morning.

The transfer comes under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took effect on Oct. 10, halting Israel’s two-year war that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.

On Sunday, senior Hamas member Husam Badran accused Israel of using the remains issue as “a pretext to avoid fulfilling its obligations” under the ceasefire deal.

Israel ties the start of negotiations for launching the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to receiving the bodies of all its captives. It claims that the remains of two Israeli captives are still in Gaza, while Hamas says it has handed over all 20 Israeli hostages who were alive and the remains of all 28 who were killed.

Meanwhile, there are 9,500 missing Palestinians killed by the Israeli army whose bodies remain under the rubble, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.

Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire agreement by opening fire on Palestinian civilians in areas it does not control under the deal, while Hamas has announced its full commitment to the terms of the agreement and urged the US to pressure Israel to comply.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 357 Palestinians have been killed and more than 900 others injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire.