The remains of a hostage in Gaza have been turned over and are now in Israel, the Israeli military said Tuesday, in the latest sign of progress under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed the remains belonged to Itay Chen, the last Israeli American hostage held in Gaza. Chen died during battle at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza. He was 19 years old, the IDF said.
Chen is survived by his parents and two brothers.
With the IDF’s confirmation, Hamas has returned the remains of 21 hostages to Israel under the ceasefire that began Oct. 10. The remains of seven others are still in Gaza. The process of returning the bodies of the last remaining hostages, as called for under the U.S. peace plan, has progressed slowly, with Hamas releasing just one or two bodies every few days.
Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier Tuesday, the military wing of Hamas said it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier in Gaza and intended to hand over the remains. Israel’s statement did not indicate whether the remains were of a soldier.
Israel has pushed to speed up the returns and, in certain cases, has said the remains were not those of hostages. Israel’s government and the families of the hostages have accused Hamas of dragging its feet, threatening to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all of the remains are not returned.
Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation.
For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. So far, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed over under the current ceasefire. Fewer than half have been identified. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza. The Hamas-run Health Ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health there, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
Israel, which has denied accusations by a United Nations commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradicting toll.
The deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas was winding down due to the ceasefire, but attacks briefly resumed last month after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire.
The IDF said last week that it would “continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it.”
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