Israel receives body Hamas says Gaza hostage

The Israeli military said Hamas had seized a body and was a hostage.

The body was taken by the Red Cross to Israeli forces in Gaza and will now be returned to Israel for formal identification.

Earlier on Monday, Hamas had handed over all 20 living hostages and 12 of the 28 dead hostages in the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that began on October 10.

There is anger in Israel that Hamas has not yet returned all the dead hostages, with the Israeli military saying the Palestinian armed group “must uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all hostages”.

Hamas says it is having trouble finding bodies under the rubble in Gaza.

Under the agreement, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 prisoners from Gaza and returned 15 Palestinian bodies in exchange for the remains of each Israeli hostage.

In the first phase, aid has flowed into the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have partially withdrawn and fighting has stopped – although deadly violence erupted on Sunday as both sides accused each other of violating the agreement.

Israel said it struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Strip after it said two of its soldiers were killed in a Hamas attack in Rafah. Hamas said it was “unaware” of any clashes in the area, which is under Israeli control.

Local hospitals reported that at least 45 Palestinians were killed in the attack.

On Sunday evening, Israel said it was resuming enforcement of the ceasefire, adding that it would “strongly respond to any violation of it”. Hamas had previously said it was committed to the deal.

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire was in place, as his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner flew to Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) currently hold half of Gaza, demarcated by the so-called Yellow Line.

As Palestinians express confusion over the exact location of the line, the IDF released a video showing bulldozers towing yellow blocks to mark it.

On Monday, Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire killed three people east of Gaza City. The IDF said its forces fired on “several terrorists” who crossed the Yellow Line in neighboring areas.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed nearly 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage in southern Israel.

At least 68,216 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are deemed reliable by the United Nations.