Written by Were Kelly
Hamas has announced it will hand over the body of one more Israeli captive to the Red Cross on Thursday evening, a small but significant step in the fragile ceasefire process that has held in Gaza since October. The militant group cited the “challenges” of locating remains amidst the widespread destruction of the enclave, while the Israeli government accused it of unacceptable delays in returning all of the dead.
The handover, scheduled for 18:00 GMT, is part of the phased exchanges agreed upon under a US-brokered truce that began on October 10. Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has released 20 living hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and has returned the bodies of 15 Israelis. The process of recovering the bodies of those killed during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, or who died in captivity, has been slow and fraught. Israeli officials have confirmed that at least 75 hostages are dead, with the recovery of bodies like those of Omer Neutra and Oz Daniel from tunnel complexes earlier this month providing grim certainty to their families.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office expressed frustration, saying, “Hamas is playing cynical games with the lives of the dead and the hearts of their families. All bodies must be returned without delay.” A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, countered that the group was operating in good faith but faced immense logistical hurdles. “The extensive destruction caused by the Israeli military has made the location and recovery of some remains profoundly challenging. We have lost contact with some units that were holding remains,” the official claimed.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has been a powerful voice for the victims’ relatives, acknowledged the emotional weight of each return. A spokesperson for the forum stated, “Every return is a closure for a family, but our mission is not over until every single one is home. We urge the negotiators to maintain the pause until this sacred task is complete.” The broader implications of these difficult negotiations are immense. The ceasefire remains fragile, and the delayed handovers threaten to derail the planned second phase of the agreement, which envisions a more permanent truce, Israeli troop withdrawals, and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction. The International Criminal Court is known to be monitoring the process as part of its broader investigation into the conflict, with the Red Cross’s neutral mediation remaining a critical component of the fragile truce.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Times of Israel, The Guardian.
