Hamas has handed over the stays of one other deceased hostage, and the Crimson Cross is on its technique to obtain the coffin, the Israel Protection Forces stated Friday.
“In accordance with data acquired, the Crimson Cross is on its technique to the assembly level within the southern Gaza Strip, the place a coffin of a deceased hostage can be transferred into its custody,” the IDF stated in a social media put up late Friday evening native time.
Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, stated earlier Friday that it was handing over the physique of one other hostage.
The announcement comes after Hamas stated Wednesday it had handed over all of the Israeli hostage stays in Gaza that it had been in a position to recuperate, and in depth efforts and particular tools could be required to search out the remaining our bodies.
The Gaza peace plan referred to as for Hamas to hand over all remaining hostages — 20 dwelling and 28 useless — by Monday, Oct. 13. Because the plan took impact final week, Hamas has been accused of delaying handing over the stays of Israeli hostages nonetheless believed to be within the Palestinian territory.
Hamas has handed over the stays of at the least seven confirmed hostages for the reason that peace deal took impact, not together with the physique handed over Friday, which nonetheless must be recognized.
Whereas Hamas returned the 20 dwelling hostages by the Monday deadline, the stays of solely 4 deceased Israeli captives have been handed over. Hamas transferred a further 4 our bodies on Tuesday, however the IDF stated considered one of them was not a hostage. If the stays handed over on Friday are confirmed to be an Israeli hostage, which means the stays of at the least 18 hostages are nonetheless unaccounted for.
A senior U.S. adviser informed reporters on a name Wednesday that “no one is getting left behind,” noting they consider there are nonetheless many our bodies buried beneath the mountains of rubble throughout Gaza. Senior U.S. advisers stated the extent of destruction additionally makes it troublesome to maneuver round within the Palestinian territory.
“It will have been nearly unimaginable for Hamas to mobilize, even when they knew the place all of the 28 our bodies have been, to mobilize and get them house,” one adviser stated Wednesday.
Chris McGrath / Getty Photographs
Strikingly, the adviser stated the U.S. is sharing Israeli intelligence with Hamas to help find hostage stays. The adviser additionally stated Turkey has supplied to assist seek for and retrieve stays by sending in professional groups with expertise rescuing individuals from the frequent earthquakes within the nation.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated Thursday that American personnel could be a part of the trouble to recuperate the stays of the hostages which have but to be turned over.
Throughout negotiations that led to the peace deal, Hamas representatives stated they didn’t know the situation of all of the stays of deceased hostages, in line with Israeli media stories. President Trump additionally stated in Egypt on Monday that not the entire our bodies of the deceased hostages had been discovered, including that unidentified events have been nonetheless “understanding” how you can find an unspecified variety of stays.
The senior U.S. advisers who spoke to reporters on Wednesday urged endurance and stated they don’t seem to be at a degree the place they really feel that the settlement has been violated, citing the difficulties in retrieving the stays nonetheless in Gaza.
Each the Israeli Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board, the group that represents the hostage households, and Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz have beforehand stated your entire peace deal must be shelved till the entire hostages’ stays are returned by Hamas.
This can be a creating story and can be up to date.
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