Hamas has returned the remains of another hostage to Israel, as bulldozers are deployed in the search for more bodies under the rubble of Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed a coffin had been received from the International Committee of the Red Cross inside the territory.
Israeli authorities said the family of the deceased would be notified after a formal identification process.
Gaza latest: Hamas explains delays in handing over bodies
Hamas’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, said the remains were those of an “occupation prisoner” – suggesting they belonged to an Israeli.
Images from the territory on Friday show efforts in Khan Younis to find some of the remains, with heavy machinery digging out large trenches.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
This week, Hamas has handed over the remains of nine hostages, along with a tenth that Israel said wasn’t that of a hostage.
Israel has accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire deal, brokered by Donald Trump, by failing to return all the bodies of deceased hostages.
Hamas has responded by saying it is committed to the terms of the agreement, but there are difficulties in locating the remains because so many are buried under the rubble left by two years of Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
It has also blamed Israel for the delays, saying it had not allowed any new bulldozers into Gaza.
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The US president has warned that he would support Israel in resuming the war if Hamas doesn’t live up to its end of the deal and return all hostages’ bodies, totalling 28.
Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages on Monday. In exchange, Israel freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
While much focus has been on the handover of hostages’ remains, Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, expedite the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and start reconstruction.
It also said work should “start immediately” to set up a committee of Palestinian independents who will run Gaza and called for Israeli troops to continue pulling back from agreed-upon areas.
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