The remains of 25-year-old Sahar Baruch and 85-year-old Amiram Cooper have been returned to Israel, authorities confirmed late Thursday, bringing the remains of eleven dead hostages remaining in Gaza.
Israel is "working tirelessly" to bring back the remaining remains, writes Netanyahu's office, and reminds that Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist organization, must return all dead hostages under the current ceasefire agreement.
Thursday's handover took place in central Gaza, where the Red Cross received two coffins from Hamas. These were taken to Israel, where the remains were analyzed to ensure they were those of Israelis who died as hostages in Gaza.
Earlier this week, Hamas stated that two bodies had been "retrieved", but no handover took place, citing Israeli attacks on Gaza, The Times of Israel reports.
Sahar Baruch died, according to the Israeli military, in December 2023 during an attempt to free some of the hostages. Cooper is said to have died in February 2024. Both were kidnapped from kibbutzim near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023.
