Israel says it receives remains believed to be of Gaza captive | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Tests are being conducted to determine whether the remains are those of one of the three dead detainees still remaining in Gaza.

Israel says the Red Cross has handed over a set of human remains believed to be those of an Israeli detainee held in Gaza.

“Through the Red Cross, Israel has received the coffin of a fallen hostage,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, which was handed over to Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers inside Gaza.

Tests are expected to be conducted to determine whether the remains are those of one of the three dead detainees still remaining in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The handover of the remains is part of a United States-brokered plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where a tenuous ceasefire holds despite Israeli attacks across the territory.

Palestinian armed groups have returned the bodies of 25 detainees as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on October 10. In return, Israel has released the bodies of 330 Palestinians to authorities in Gaza.

Hamas says it has not been able to access all the remains because they are buried under the debris of Israel’s more than two-year war.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said the delay amounted to a ceasefire violation.

However, according to Gaza’s government media office, since the ceasefire began, Israel has violated the ceasefire at least 497 times, killing 342 Palestinians. Most of those victims are children, women and the elderly.

Israel also continues to impose severe restrictions on the delivery of food, water, fuel and medical supplies to the devastated area, as mandated by the ceasefire.