Israel Receives Body of Hostage Allegedly Found by Hamas

Wed Jan 14 2026 20:01:25 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a recent development within the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel's Prime Minister's office confirmed the transfer of a coffin containing the body of a hostage that Hamas claims to have recovered. This transfer raises significant concerns regarding the adherence to the ceasefire agreement.

Israel has received a coffin from Hamas, reportedly containing the body of one of the last three deceased hostages still in Gaza. The transfer, facilitated by the Red Cross, has provoked criticism from Israel regarding delays in the transfer process and potential violations of the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli government is set to conduct an identification process for the body. The return of hostages remains a sensitive issue amid increasing tensions in the region as negotiations continue under the framework of a ceasefire.

Israel has received, via the Red Cross, a coffin that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) say contains the body of one of the last three deceased hostages still in Gaza, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Israeli forces will now transfer the body to Israel's National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

Earlier, PIJ and Hamas announced that the body of an Israeli hostage had been found in central Gaza on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office warned that it viewed 'with severity the delay in the immediate transfer' of the body, stating it constituted a 'further violation' of the six-week-old Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Following the handover in central Gaza on Tuesday afternoon, the office updated the families of the three dead hostages accordingly. 'Our hearts are with them in this difficult hour,' it added, highlighting that the effort to return hostages would not cease until the last hostage is returned.

Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, effective from October 10, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of the 28 dead Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza within 72 hours.

All the living hostages were released on October 13 in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

So far, the remains of 22 dead Israeli hostages have been handed over, along with those of three foreign hostages – one of them Thai, one Nepalese, and one Tanzanian.

In exchange, Israel has handed over the bodies of 330 Palestinians killed during the conflict.

Two of the three remaining dead hostages are Israelis - Ran Gvili, 24, and Dror Or, 48 - and one is Thai - Suthisak Rintalak, 43.

Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the bodies, while Hamas has insisted it is struggling to find them under rubble.

The slow progress has hindered advancements on the second phase of President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, which includes plans for governance of Gaza, withdrawal of Israeli troops, disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction.

The dead hostages were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which approximately 1,200 others were killed.

Israel's military response in Gaza has reportedly resulted in over 69,770 fatalities, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.