Israel has confirmed that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) handed over the body of deceased Israeli hostage Dror Or on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said his government “shares in the deep sorrow of the Or family” following the completion of forensic testing overnight.
It stressed that Israeli authorities were working “tirelessly” to bring home the last two dead hostages still in Gaza and demanded that Hamas uphold its commitments to hand over their remains under the six-week-old Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Or’s body was transferred via the Red Cross after PIJ and Hamas announced that it had been recovered in central Gaza on Monday.
On Wednesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its representatives had informed Or’s family that his body was returned after experts at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv confirmed its identity.
According to the IDF, the 48-year-old father of three was killed by PIJ at his home in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. His body was then abducted and taken to Gaza as a hostage.
Mr Or’s wife, Yonat, was also killed during the attack, while two of their children, Noam and Alma, were kidnapped alive. They were held hostage in Gaza until November 2023, when they were released as part of a week-long ceasefire deal.
“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages, and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement,” an IDF statement said.
“Hamas is required to fulfil its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial.”
Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, which took effect on 10 October, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of the 28 dead Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza within 72 hours.
All the living hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
So far, the remains of 23 dead Israeli hostages have been handed over, along with those of three foreign hostages – one of them Thai, one Nepalese and one Tanzanian.
In exchange, Israel has handed over the bodies of 330 Palestinians killed during the war. It should hand over another 15 bodies in return for Mr Or’s remains.
One of the remaining dead hostages is Israeli – Ran Gvili, 24 – and the other is Thai – Suthisak Rintalak, 43.
Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the hostages’ bodies, while Hamas has insisted it is struggling to find them under rubble.
The slow progress has meant there has been no advance on the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. This includes plans for the governance of Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction.
The two dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted by Hamas and its allies on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 other people were killed.
Israel responded to the attack by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 69,770 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
