Hamas recovers body of Israeli soldier
Israel handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians to the Gaza Strip through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday, a day after Palestinian militants returned the remains of an Israeli hostage under the ongoing ceasefire agreement, reported Xinhua.
The handover followed Israel's confirmation that the remains transferred by Hamas the previous night belonged to a reserve soldier killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The hostage was identified as 61-year-old Lior Rudaeff, whose body had been held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The latest exchange brings the total number of Palestinian bodies returned to 300, while 23 hostage bodies have so far been returned to Israel.
The remains of four Israelis and one Thai national are still in Gaza, out of 28 hostage bodies that Hamas is obligated to return under the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10.
In addition to the deceased, Hamas has released 20 living Israeli captives, while Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences and 1,718 detainees from Gaza as part of the truce deal.
Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, recovered on Saturday the body of an Israeli soldier captured during the 2014 conflict, from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a source from the group said.
The source, who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that the remains were identified as those of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin.
According to the source, the bodies of six Al-Qassam fighters were also found alongside Goldin's.
The recovery operation was carried out after Israeli authorities allowed Al-Qassam members, accompanied by teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to enter Rafah earlier in the day to search for Goldin's remains, the source added.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.
Goldin was captured in August 2014 during clashes with Al-Qassam fighters in eastern Rafah. Hamas later announced his capture and displayed his rifle as a war trophy, while the Israeli army declared him killed.
This marks the first reported recovery operation in Rafah since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. The city remains largely under Israeli control, and residents have yet to be allowed to return as it is still designated a restricted area.
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
