The physique of a hostage returned by Hamas through the Purple Cross in Gaza has been recognized as Israeli-American soldier Itay Chen, Israel has confirmed.
The 19-year-old soldier’s stays had been returned on Tuesday as a part of a Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump final month.
“Following the completion of the identification course of… IDF representatives knowledgeable the household of the fallen hostage, Workers Sergeant Itay Chen, that their cherished one has been returned to Israel and positively recognized,” the Israeli prime minister’s workplace mentioned.
Earlier, Hamas’s army wing mentioned it had recovered the physique of an Israeli soldier within the japanese Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza Metropolis.
Israel had allowed members of the group and Purple Cross employees to seek for the stays within the space, which is inside territory nonetheless managed by Israeli forces.
Chen was working at his base on the Gaza border when Hamas and its allies launched their assaults on Israel on October 7, 2023.
His household misplaced communication with him after he instructed them his base was underneath assault.
Chen was initially believed to have been taken hostage by jihadists was truly killed within the 7 October assaults, the Israeli army mentioned in March 2024. It mentioned he had died in fight and his physique had been taken to Gaza.
The Israeli authorities has accused Hamas of intentionally delaying the restoration of the lifeless hostages since a US-brokered ceasefire deal took impact on 10 October.
Hamas has insisted it’s troublesome to find the our bodies underneath rubble.
Underneath the ceasefire deal, Hamas agreed to return the 20 residing and 28 lifeless hostages it was nonetheless holding inside 72 hours.
All of the residing Israeli hostages had been launched on 13 October in trade for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Israel has handed over the our bodies of 270 Palestinians in trade for the our bodies of the 19 Israeli hostages returned by Hamas, together with these of two overseas hostages – one in all them Thai and the opposite Nepalese.
5 of the seven lifeless hostages nonetheless in Gaza are Israelis, one is Tanzanian, and one is Thai.
All however one of many lifeless hostages nonetheless in Gaza had been among the many 251 folks kidnapped throughout the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, throughout which about 1,200 different folks had been killed.
Israel responded by launching a army marketing campaign in Gaza, throughout which greater than 68,800 folks have been killed, in line with the territory’s Hamas-run well being ministry.
Earlier on Tuesday, a hospital official in Gaza Metropolis mentioned a person was killed by Israeli fireplace within the Jabalia space of northern Gaza.
The Israeli army mentioned its troops killed a “terrorist” who had crossed the “Yellow Line”, which demarcates Israeli-controlled territory, and posed a risk to them.
