Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza

Gaza, Nov 8: Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Friday handed over the body of an Israeli hostage as part of the ongoing ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Saturday that the remains were those of Lior Rudaeff, identified after a formal verification process. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the coffin carrying Rudaeff’s body was transferred to Israeli security forces in Gaza through the Red Cross.

Islamic Jihad, a Hamas-allied armed faction that also captured hostages during the October 7, 2023 attack, said the body was recovered in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

As per the October ceasefire deal, Hamas had released all 20 surviving hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees held in Israel. The agreement also covered the exchange of 28 deceased hostages’ remains for 360 militant bodies.

Including Rudaeff, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak, 23 hostage bodies have now been returned in exchange for 285 Palestinian bodies, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Not all of the remains have been identified yet.

Hamas-led militants had seized 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during the October 2023 attack, according to Israeli figures. In retaliation, Israel’s military operations have killed nearly 69,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, as per Gaza health officials.

The fragile ceasefire has largely reduced fighting, enabling hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their destroyed homes and allowing greater humanitarian aid into Gaza.