Hostage bodies handed over by Hamas identified

Gaza Agreement

Hostage bodies handed over by Hamas identified

Hamas has so far handed over 15 of the 28 killed hostages to Israel. After the ceasefire agreement, the remains of 13 abductees are still missing.

According to Israeli information, the two bodies most recently handed over by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip are the remains of hostages kidnapped from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed this overnight. One of the two victims was identified as Arie Salmanowich, the name of the other has not yet been released by relatives for publication.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas promised to hand over a total of 28 dead hostages. 13 of the bodies are still believed to be in the Gaza Strip – although it is questionable whether the remains will ultimately actually be handed over in all cases. Hamas claims that after two years of war and widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, it is extremely difficult to get hold of all the bodies.

According to information from the Israeli army, Salmanovich was kidnapped alive from his home during the attack by Hamas and other Islamist terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023. It is assumed that he was murdered in captivity on November 17, 2023, the army said. Salmanowich was 85 years old at the time of his death.

In their unprecedented October massacre, the terrorists killed around 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 250 to the neighboring Gaza Strip. The massacre sparked the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. On Monday last week, the Islamists released the last 20 living hostages. The first phase of a ceasefire in force since October 10th calls for the handover of all hostages, living and dead, to Israel.