Red Cross mediated
Hamas hands over body of German-Israeli to Israel
Updated 10/22/2025 – 8:53 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Hamas has returned more hostage bodies to Israel. There is also a German-Israeli among them.
The terrorist organization Hamas has handed over two more bodies to employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Gaza Strip, which are dead hostages kidnapped from Israel.
More specifically, these are the remains of the German-Israeli Tamir Adar and the senior citizen Arje Zalmanovitch, the Israeli army said on Wednesday after the identification. The handover of the bodies is part of the ceasefire agreement, but around a dozen bodies are still missing.
According to the Israeli army, the German-Israeli Adar from Kibbutz Nir Oz was killed on October 7, 2023, and his body was therefore held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was 38 years old at the time of the attack.
On the day of the attack on Israel, the father of two children defended his kibbutz against the Islamists. There was no trace of him for months. Eventually, his family was informed that he had been killed in the attack and that his body had been taken to the Gaza Strip.
The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, explained on the online service X that Adar was now at home. Now his family can “finally lay this wonderful man to rest.”
Zalmanovitch was one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was also kidnapped from his home on October 7, 2023. While hiding in his shelter from the Hamas attackers, he managed to send a message to one of his sons.
The 85-year-old was later seen in footage of the Hamas attackers, covered in blood, being dragged off to the Gaza Strip on the back seat of a motorcycle. According to the Israeli army, he was killed while being held hostage on November 17, 2023.
As part of a first phase of the US-driven peace plan, Hamas must hand over a total of 28 bodies. If the remains that have now been transferred are actually dead abductees, there are still 13 hostage bodies remaining in the Gaza Strip. A week ago on Monday, the Islamist organization had already released all living hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has been slow to hand over the bodies, saying it is difficult for it to find them because they are buried under the rubble of bombed buildings and tunnels. An Israeli government spokeswoman called this a lie. Israel knows that Hamas can find the remains.
The ICRC announced in the afternoon that 15 Palestinian bodies had been brought to the Gaza Strip. This may have happened in exchange for the body of an Israeli who was handed over on Monday evening. Israel must release the bodies of 15 dead Gazans for every hostage whose remains Hamas hands over.
