KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Wednesday, a day after Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli hostage. This is the latest exchange as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached last month, whose first phase is coming to an end.
The remains of two hostages, one Israeli and a Thai national who were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the war, are still to be returned.
Here’s a look at the hostages whose remains have not been returned.
Ran Gvili, 24
Ran Gvili, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder he sustained in a motorcycle accident but rushed to assist fellow officers on Oct. 7. After helping people escape from the Nova music festival, he was killed fighting at another location and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.
Sudthisak Rinthalak
Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. According to media reports, Sudthisak was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted on Oct. 7, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Wednesday that the militant group was committed to handing over the remains of the two hostages. Israel has accused the militants of stalling after the last living hostages were released on Oct. 13, but Hamas says recovering the bodies has proven difficult due to widespread destruction in the Palestinian territory.
Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian mediators met in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, reached on Oct. 10.
That is expected to include deploying an armed International Stabilization Force, or ISF, and developing an international body to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction. The ISF will be tasked with keeping security and ensuring the disarmament of Hamas, a key demand of Israel. Indonesian officials have said they plan to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to the force.
Major questions hang over nearly every part of the plan and the time frame for implementation of the fragile ceasefire that has held despite accusations of violations by both sides.
Separately, a Palestinian official in the Israeli-occupied West Bank accused Israel on Wednesday of conducting “a wide-scale military operation” in his governorate. Israel says it is conducting a “broad counterterrorism operation,” without providing further details.
Palestinian bodies returned and hostage remains identified
According to the ceasefire, Israel has agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered. So far, 345 Palestinian bodies have been returned, said the Gaza Health Ministry. It is unclear if they were people killed in Israel during the Oct. 7 attack, Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
The ministry said only 99 bodies have been identified. It says identifying the remains is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel mourned the latest hostage to be returned by the Palestinian militants, Dror Or. Israel’s military said Or and his wife, Yonat Or, were killed by militants who overran their community of Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023.
Before they were killed, the couple evacuated two of their children from their burning house through a window, said the Hostages Families Forum. The decision ultimately saved the children, Alma and Noam, who were abducted by the militants and released in a hostage deal in November 2023.
The forum remembered Or as a devoted father and talented cheesemaker who spent years working at the Be’eri dairy, eventually managing it. The group said Or was also a chef and yoga teacher.
In total, Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and abducted 251 to Gaza in their attack.
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