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Hamas has returned the body of an American-Israeli hostage, while seven more dead detainees are yet to be handed over under Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal.
remains of 19 year old Staff Sergeant Itay Chen The army said on Wednesday that he had been returned to Israel for burial. dual citizenship The teenager was serving as a soldier When Hamas carried out the massacre on 7 October 2023.
Chen’s family shared a statement with CNN following the “bittersweet” news that their son’s body was exhumed.
His family said in a statement, “For 760 days, Our dear and beloved son, Israel’s hero, Itai, was held captive by Hamas. Last night, we received the bitter news of his return home to Israel.” The family also said that the bodies of the remaining hostages held in Gaza “should be brought back.”
The teen was the second of three sons, a former Boy Scout and an avid basketball player, his father previously told the network.
The family lived in uncertainty for five months after the war began, when they did not know whether he had died or not, which they described as “psychological warfare”.
“The last five months have basically been psychological warfare that Hamas-ISIS is waging by not communicating that Itay was actually killed,” Mr. Chen told CNN last year.
israel Received bodies from Hamas through Red Cross in GazaThe Prime Minister’s Office said and later Confirmed it was Chen Following an identification process.
“The IDF expresses its deepest condolences to the family, is making every possible effort to return all deceased hostages and stands ready for the continued implementation of the agreement,” the army said in a statement on Friday.
Hamas said it found the body in Shejaya, a suburb of eastern Gaza City, in an area still held by Israeli forces. Israel provided access to the location to teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The terrorist group has now returned 21 of the 28 bodies of the hostages. In Gaza. The names of the remaining seven are Joshua Luito Mollel, Ran Gwili, Dror Orr, Lior Rudeff, Menny Goddard, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Hadar Goldin.
Goldin is the last remaining hostage taken during active IDF service, although he was taken during 2014 rather than October 7, according to Jerusalem Post.
Hospital officials in Gaza said they had received the bodies of 15 Palestinians from Israel in return. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis confirmed that the number of Palestinian bodies returned to Gaza now stands at 285.
The US-brokered ceasefire aims to end this The deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between israel and palestinian Extremist group.
Hamas has been accused of being too slow in repatriating the remaining bodies. Militants in Gaza have recently left one to three bodies every few days.
Israel has insisted on expediting the return and in some cases has said that the remains were not those of the hostages. Hamas has said the task has been complicated by the widespread destruction.
For the return of every Israeli hostageIsrael is releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. So far, bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed over under the current ceasefire. Less than half have been identified.
Forensic work is complicated by the lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The health ministry there posts photos of the remains online in the hope that families will identify them.
The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
Israel responded with a widespread military offensive, killing more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israel, which has denied the allegations by the UN commission of inquiry and others Genocide in Gazahas disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradictory toll.