Israel announced on Tuesday that Hamas had received the remains of another deceased hostage held in the Gaza Strip as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that took effect last month.
Israel, which received the coffin through the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, said the remains would now be taken to the country’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification. If confirmed, the bodies of the seven deceased hostages will remain in Gaza.
The transfers came after Hamas handed over the bodies of three hostages who died on Sunday. US President Donald Trump confirmed that one of them was Omer Neutra, a dual Israeli-American citizen who was killed in the first Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
Last Thursday, Hamas released the bodies of two other hostages, identified as Amiram Cooper, 84, and Sahar Baluch, 25.
The solidity of the ceasefire brokered by President Trump was previously tested after Hamas said it handed over the remains of three dead people on October 28, but Israeli authorities could not identify whether they belonged to any of the hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was resorting to a “pathetic attempt to deceive us, the United States and the world” and directed the military to launch an “immediate and strong offensive” in Gaza. These airstrikes killed at least 104 Palestinians, including dozens of children, making it the deadliest day since the start of the ceasefire.
Since then, however, the release of hostages’ bodies has proceeded as planned and the ceasefire has largely remained in place. In an interview on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Trump said the ceasefire he helped broker was “not fragile” and “very strong” and warned that “if we don’t act, Hamas could be removed immediately.”
Meanwhile, Israel is rocked by a scandal surrounding Maj. Gen. Iffat Tomer El-Salmi, the military’s top lawyer tasked with enforcing the rule of law within the military. She was arrested as part of a criminal investigation into a leaked video showing alleged abuse, including sexual abuse, of Palestinian detainees at Israel’s notorious Sde Teyman military prison.
The video was first aired on Israel’s Channel 12 in August 2024. In May of that year, CNN interviewed three whistleblowers who detailed their alleged abuses at the prison. A month later, Israel announced it would begin phasing out the facility.
