The Red Cross has received the coffin of a deceased hostage from the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement on Monday. The Red Cross is now taking the coffin to IDF troops in Gaza. The news comes after Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said a body would be returned on Monday evening. Neither Hamas nor Israel have publicly identified the body. Once the transfer is complete, Hamas will have handed over the bodies of 16 of the 28 deceased hostages that were part of the ceasefire agreement. The bodies of 12 more remain in Gaza. Anger has intensified in Israel over the delayed return of the hostage bodies as outlined in the ceasefire deal. Demonstrators have frequently gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to demand the release of the remaining bodies. This week, heavy machinery from Egypt entered Gaza to assist in the search for the bodies of the hostages. Hamas has previously said that it handed over all of the hostage remains that it could access and that “extensive efforts and special equipment” would be needed to retrieve more. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza. But Israel believes that Hamas does know the locations of some of the deceased hostages it claims are missing.
