Hamas reports discovery of remains of Israeli hostage

Representatives of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, have announced the discovery of the remains of an Israeli hostage during search operations within the so-called "yellow line."

They claim the remains belong to a serviceman who was killed in the Shuja’iyya area, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The group stated that they are “taking steps to transfer the remains” to Israeli forces.

“We confirm that the deployment of engineering equipment and the accompaniment of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades units by Red Cross representatives during the search for remains within the yellow line facilitated the rapid recovery of bodies and led to the discovery of many of them,” the statement read.

On November 4, the Israeli army confirmed that the remains of three people returned by Hamas under a ceasefire deal belonged to soldiers. They were identified as Colonel Assaf Hamami, Captain Omer Maxim Netura, and Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel, all killed near the Gaza border on 7 October 2023.

Hamas handed over the remains to the Red Cross under a ceasefire that began on October 10 as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan. So far, Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned 21 of 28 deceased captives. Israel said one returned body did not match any missing captives.

The next phase of ceasefire talks is linked to the handover of all hostage remains. Phase one includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, reconstruction of Gaza, and the establishment of a governing mechanism without Hamas.

By Aghakazim Guliyev