Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Friday handed over the body of an Israeli hostage as part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, officials from both sides confirmed.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that the remains had been positively identified as those of Lior Rudaeff, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the transfer took place through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) inside Gaza.
Islamic Jihad, an armed faction allied with Hamas, said the body had been recovered in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza that saw intense fighting earlier in the war.
Under the October ceasefire deal, Hamas agreed to release all 20 surviving hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for the freedom of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees held in Israel.
The arrangement also included the exchange of the remains of 28 deceased hostages for 360 Palestinian militant bodies.
Including Rudaeff, 23 Israeli hostage bodies have now been returned under the terms of the agreement, while Gaza health authorities say 285 Palestinian bodies have been repatriated so far, though not all have been identified.
The hostage crisis began when Hamas-led militants seized 251 people during the October 7 attack, which also killed about 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has since killed nearly 69,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Despite the fragile ceasefire, sporadic clashes and airstrikes have continued in parts of Gaza.
However, the truce has allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to devastated neighborhoods, while Israel has pulled back troops from several urban areas and permitted an increase in humanitarian aid deliveries.
Israeli officials said efforts were ongoing to recover the remains of other hostages still believed to be in Gaza, as negotiations continue over a potential long-term truce and post-war reconstruction framework.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
