Israel received the body of a deceased hostage, transferred by Hamas through the Red Cross, according to the announcement made by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that the body of a deceased hostage has been transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross personnel, who handed it over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The body will be officially identified at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv. Hamas confirmed the transfer and stated that it will continue to work towards completing the exchange process.

So far, the militant group has handed over the remains of nine of the 28 deceased hostages. Discontent in Israel has grown due to delays in the repatriation of the bodies, a condition stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. Israel suspects that Hamas knows the locations of other deceased hostages but is not returning them. The al-Qassam Brigades have stated that significant efforts are needed to recover the remaining bodies.