AP | Deir al-Balah
Israel said Palestinian militants on Tuesday handed over human remains believed to be of a hostage to the Red Cross, which will deliver them next to the Israeli military.
It was not immediately clear if the remains were those of one of three hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip.
The remains are expected to be taken to Israel for forensic testing and identification.
The handover is part of last month’s fragile ceasefire that has held despite Israeli strikes on Gaza, mounting Palestinian casualties, and mutual accusations of violations.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced it found the body earlier this week in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza. Hamas had earlier said that the the body was to be handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday afternoon.
Palestinian militants have released the bodies of 25 hostages since the US-brokered ceasefire started on Oct 10. Three are believed to still be in Gaza.
The process has been slow, threatening the truce.
Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble from Israel’s two-year offensive in the Palestinian territory. Israel has accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Tuesday that the delay amounted to a ceasefire violation.
Israel has released the bodies of 330 Palestinians back to Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.
Palestinian officials have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits. Only 95 have been identified, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, which is staffed by medical professionals. It maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
Israel has not provided details on their identities.
Meanwhile, families in Gaza confronted the aftermath of heavy rains, which have left thousands once again displaced and exposed to the elements. The rains have underscored the dire humanitarian conditions millions in Gaza face.
Aid has slowly entered Gaza, but organisations like the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs have warned that shortages of crucial goods like food and winter supplies still persist, and have called on Israel to ease aid restrictions.
