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Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam
Israel's security forces said Wednesday night that Hamas handed over the remains of another hostage to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency said a coffin containing the remains was transferred from the Red Cross to Israeli forces and would be sent for identification at a forensic lab in Tel Aviv.
Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed it had delivered the body of "an Israeli captive" found in Gaza City's Shujaiya neighborhood. The handover was part of an ongoing exchange under the current cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Before Wednesday's transfer, Hamas had returned the remains of 21 hostages under the truce. If the latest remains are confirmed, six bodies would still be held in Gaza -- four Israelis, one Tanzanian, and one Thai national, according to Israeli officials.
Gaza health authorities said they received the bodies of 15 Palestinians "released today by the Israeli occupation through the Red Cross," bringing the total number of returned bodies to 285. Medical teams have identified 84 of them so far.
Since the cease-fire took effect on Oct. 10, Hamas has released 20 Israeli hostages alive, while Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and about 1,800 detainees from Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
Also on Wednesday, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire while collecting firewood east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, medical sources said.
Health authorities reported three more bodies and two injured people brought to Gaza hospitals in the past 24 hours. They said 241 people have been killed and 609 wounded since the cease-fire began, while 513 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
The overall death toll from Israel's war in Gaza, a territory of about 2 million people, has reached 68,875, with 170,679 injured since the conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza health officials.
