Palestinian militants hand over body of another Gaza hostage
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Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Nov 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JERUSALEM - Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad handed over the body of a deceased hostage on Nov 7 as part of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Nov 8 it had confirmed the body was that of Mr Lior Rudaeff following an identification process.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that a coffin carrying the remains of a hostage has been handed over to Israeli security forces in Gaza via the Red Cross.
Islamic Jihad is an armed group that is allied with Hamas and which also took hostages during the Oct 7, 2023 attack
Under the October ceasefire deal
The ceasefire agreement also included the return of remains of 28 deceased hostages in exchange for remains of 360 militants.
Including Mr Rudaeff, taken from the Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak, 23 hostage bodies have been returned in exchange for 300 bodies of Palestinians, though not all have been identified, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Hamas-led militants seized 251 hostages in the 2023 attack and killed another 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, health officials in Gaza say.
The tenuous ceasefire has calmed most but not all fighting, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes in Gaza. Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities and more aid has been allowed in. REUTERS
