Israel received the deceased remains of two hostages held in Gaza on Thursday afternoon. The body was transported to Israel through the Red Cross and taken to the country’s National Forensic Medical Laboratory for identification.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the deceased hostages were identified as Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baluch.
Cooper, 84, was one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Gaza border. He was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023. His family was informed in June 2024 that he had been killed in captivity. The circumstances of his death are unclear, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said he was killed in captivity around February last year.
Cooper was the last remaining hostage from Nir Oz, one of the worst-hit areas in the first attack two years ago, and his body has not been returned. “We will always remember Mr. Amiram, who deeply loved the kibbutz and its members, as a man of people and language, a pioneer with values, and a man of initiative and ideas,” the kibbutz said in a statement.
Baruch, 25, was also taken hostage in a raid on his mother’s home in Kibbutz Beli on October 7th. Baruch’s brother and grandmother were killed in the attack. Two months later, Baruch was killed in a failed rescue attempt in Gaza. “At this difficult and painful moment, we hope that the family can find some measure of peace, ending a horrific cycle that lasted 755 days and nights,” the kibbutz said in a statement.
Thursday’s transfer left the bodies of 11 dead hostages in Gaza.
“Efforts to recover the hostages will continue uninterrupted and will not stop until the last hostage is returned,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement.
The transfer of the bodies came just two days after Israel carried out punitive strikes in the Gaza Strip after Hamas killed an Israeli soldier in Rafah on Tuesday afternoon. Israeli airstrikes killed more than 100 Palestinians, including at least 46 children, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, marking the deadliest day in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect nearly three weeks ago.
Still, Hamas and Israel said they remained committed to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement. The transfer of two more sets of human remains from Hamas to Israel on Thursday was the strongest indication yet that the deal is not collapsing despite facing severe challenges just days ago.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that there was “nothing” that would jeopardize the Gaza ceasefire. He threatened to “eliminate Hamas with ease.”
The transfer appeared to proceed without resolving issues that had plagued recent attempts to return the rest of the dead hostages to Gaza. Hamas announced on Tuesday that it would hand over a set of remains, but hours later announced it would not hand over the remains under Israeli fire.
On Monday night, Hamas handed over the remains of hostage Ofir Tsarfati, whose body was recovered by Israel in Gaza two years ago. Mr. Zarfati was not among the dead hostages to be returned under the cease-fire agreement, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of a “clear violation” of the agreement.
Later, the Israel Defense Forces released a video showing Hamas staging the discovery of remains in Gaza City and handing over the remains to the Red Cross. “It is unacceptable that a false recovery has been staged at a time when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and so many families still worried about the fate of their loved ones,” the Red Cross said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
