Gaza Hostage Remains Handed Over Amid Tensions

A coffin believed to hold the remains of a hostage from the October 7th attack has been given to Israel by Hamas through the Red Cross. This is one of the last three hostages still in Gaza. The body will now be taken to a lab in Tel Aviv to be identified. Hamas and another group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they found the body in central Gaza on Monday. However, Israel's Prime Minister's office is upset about the delay in handing over the body, calling it a breach of the ceasefire agreement. Families of the three deceased hostages have been told about this development. The Prime Minister's office expressed sympathy for them and said efforts to bring back all hostages will continue. Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas was supposed to return the bodies of 28 dead hostages within 72 hours. So far, only 22 Israeli hostages and three foreign hostages have been returned. In exchange, Israel has given back the bodies of 330 Palestinians killed in the war. The remaining hostages include two Israelis and one Thai national. Israel claims Hamas is intentionally delaying the recovery of the bodies, while Hamas says they are having trouble finding them under the rubble. This delay has stalled the second phase of the peace plan, which includes plans for Gaza's governance, Israeli troop withdrawal, Hamas disarmament, and reconstruction. The hostages were among 251 people taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th, which killed about 1, 200 people. Israel's response has led to a high death toll in Gaza, with over 69, 770 people killed, according to Hamas-run health authorities.