Israel has recognized the hostage physique returned by Hamas on Thursday as that of Meny Godard, who was 73 when he was killed within the 7 October assaults.
Crimson Cross autos collected his physique hours after Hamas issued a joint assertion with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad saying it had been situated within the Khan Younis space of southern Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister’s workplace mentioned forensic testing confirmed the physique belonged to Godard, who was killed alongside along with his spouse, Ayelet, throughout Hamas’s raid on kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October 2023.
Hamas has now returned all 20 dwelling hostages, and 25 out of 28 deceased hostages, beneath the primary section of the ceasefire deal – a part of a US plan to finish the Gaza battle.
All of the dwelling Israeli hostages have been launched on 13 October in change for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
For every lifeless Israeli hostage returned, Israel has agreed handy over the stays of 15 Palestinians. However with no DNA testing accessible in Gaza, it’s laborious to establish them.
Hamas seized 251 hostages when it launched the lethal assault in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, throughout which it killed 1,200 individuals.
Greater than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory response, based on the Hamas-run well being ministry in Gaza, whose figures the UN considers dependable.
Of the three our bodies nonetheless in Gaza, two are Israeli and one is Thai.
Israel has accused Hamas of intentionally delaying the restoration of the hostages’ our bodies, however Hamas has mentioned it’s struggling to seek out them beneath rubble.
The sluggish progress has meant there was no advance on the second section of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
This contains plans for the governance of Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
