Hamas says it will hand over hostage’s body tonight, after Israeli fury at violations of ceasefire deal

By Nurit Yohanan

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28 October 2025, 4:09 pm

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Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent

The 13 deceased hostages whose bodies were still held in Gaza as of October 22, 2025: (Top row from left) Meny Godard, Ran Gvili, Sahar Baruch, Dror Or; (Second row) Joshua Mollel, Itay Chen, Asaf Hamami, Oz Daniel, Hadar Goldin; (Bottom row) Sudthisak Rinthalak, Lior Rudaeff, Amiram Cooper, Omer Neutra. (Collage by Times of Israel; Photos: Courtesy)

Hamas’s military wing announces that tonight at 8 p.m., as part of the ceasefire agreement, it will release “the body of a hostage that was recovered a short time ago from one of the tunnels in the Gaza Strip.”

The identity of the hostage is not specified.

The announcement comes amid Israeli fury at the slow pace of the return of the abductees’ remains; at the return last night of additional remains of a previously recovered hostage instead of a new body; and at what Israel says was Hamas staging a fake “finding” of those remains.

Shortly before the announcement, Hamas’s official news agency Shehab published footage showing Hamas members at what appears to be the entrance of a tunnel in Khan Younis. According to the report, Hamas members conducted a search there for the bodies of hostages.

#متابعة_شهاب|???? أفراد من وحدة الظل في كتائب القسَّام يستعدُّون للدُّخول لأحد الأنفاق؛ لانتشال جثة أحد أسرى الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/s9P4f2J4p3

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 28, 2025