The remains of an Israeli hostage have been handed over to the Red Cross and will soon be handed over to the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Tuesday.
“The Red Cross is on its way to the meeting point in the central Gaza Strip, where a coffin of a deceased hostage will be taken into custody,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The IDF requests the public to act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will be provided to the families first,” the statement continued.
“Hamas is obliged to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all deceased hostages,” the IDF noted.
HAMAS TRANSFERS THE REMAINS OF ANOTHER ISRAELI HOSTAGE AS EXCHANGES CONTINUE IN GAZA
The Red Cross is tasked with transferring the remains of Israeli hostages from Hamas to IDF custody. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israeli officials later provided an update saying they had received the remains.
“The coffin of the deceased hostage, escorted by IDF forces, recently crossed the border into the State of Israel and is on its way to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out,” the joint statement from the IDF and the Israel Security Agency said.
Before Tuesday, there were three deceased hostages known to still be in Hamas custody: Ran Gvili, 24, Dror Or, 48, and Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43.
Gvili served in an elite police unit and recovered from a motorcycle injury on October 7, 2023. Nevertheless, he rushed to respond to the attack and helped people escape from the Nova music festival. He was later killed during fighting in another location and his body was taken to Gaza.
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Or was a father of three and was murdered along with his wife Yonat Or while protecting two of their children on October 7. The two children, Noam, who was 16 at the time, and Alma, then 13, were kidnapped and then released during the November 2023 ceasefire.
Rinthalak was a Thai worker who worked at a kibbutz that was attacked on October 7. He is one of 31 Thai workers kidnapped on October 7. The Thai government says at least 46 of its citizens have been killed in the war in Gaza.
The latest release comes less than a week after President Donald Trump met with 17 surviving Israeli hostages and their loved ones at the White House.
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Trump gave each of the seventeen survivors a Presidential Challenge Coin.
“You are no longer hostages, today you are heroes,” Trump said. “We love you all, and our country loves you all. You are wonderful people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
