Gaza: The Palestinian group Hamas announced its intention to transfer the remains of an Israeli hostage this evening, as part of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The handover is set to occur in the Morag area, located north of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, at 8 pm local time (1800GMT), as reported by the Qassam Brigades on their official Telegram channel.
According to Anadolu Agency, there has been no immediate response from the Israeli army regarding this announcement. The transfer follows previous actions by Hamas, which has already released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 26 out of 28 individuals, most of whom were Israeli. However, Israel reported that one of the bodies returned did not correspond to any of its listed captives.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The agreement also outlines plans for the reconstruction of Gaza and the formation of a new governing body, excluding Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli actions in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of more than 69,000 people, primarily women and children, and have injured over 170,700 individuals.