The body of a hostage handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza late on Friday has been identified by Israel\u2019s military as Eliyahu \u201cChurchill\u201d Margalit.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the 75-year-old was killed at Nir Oz kibbutz on 7 October 2023 during Hamas\u2019s assault on southern Israel and his body taken into the Gaza Strip. His death was confirmed in December 2023. His daughter, Nili Margalit, was also kidnapped and returned as part of a deal in November 2023.<\/a><\/p>\n The IDF said<\/a> in a post on X that it had informed Margalit\u2019s family after his remains were sent to the Ministry of Health\u2019s National Center for Forensic Medicine in Israel.<\/p>\n The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that it would \u201cspare no effort until we return all of the fallen abductees, down to the last one\u201d.<\/p>\n Eliyahu Margalit. Photograph: Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now\/Reuters<\/p>\n This was the 10th deceased hostage Israel has received out of 28 bodies held in Gaza and comes amid a dispute<\/a> over delays in the return of remains under the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.<\/p>\n Hamas, citing technical problems, has said it needed heavy machinery and excavating equipment to speed up the process of locating bodies buried under rubble.<\/p>\n On Friday, two bulldozers ploughed up the earth as Hamas searched for hostages\u2019 remains in Hamad city, a complex of apartment towers in the city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces repeatedly bombarded the towers during the war, toppling some, and troops conducted a week-long raid there in March 2024.<\/p>\n Turkey sent a team of specialists to help retrieve remains buried under the rubble, but the group was still waiting on Friday for Israeli permission to enter the territory. \u201cIt remains unclear when Israel will allow the Turkish team to enter Gaza<\/a>,\u201d a Turkish official told AFP, noting that the team\u2019s mission included locating Palestinian and hostage remains. A Hamas source told AFP the Turkish delegation was expected to enter by Sunday.<\/p>\n Israel, insisting Hamas knows the whereabouts of the hostages\u2019 bodies, has said the group was running out of time. Hamas has said it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and to handing over the bodies of all remaining hostages.<\/p>\n Israel has returned to Gaza the bodies of 90 Palestinians for burial. Israel is expected to return more bodies, although officials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned.<\/p>\n The dispute over hostage remains has cast a shadow over the ceasefire agreement \u2013 the first phase of US president Donald Trump\u2019s 20-point plan to end the war.<\/p>\n At a news conference in Ankara, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Israel\u2019s statements about the hostage bodies were worrying. \u201cWill Israel use Hamas\u2019 incapability to locate bodies left under rubble \u2026 as an excuse and break the ceasefire? There is concern in the international community over this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Earlier on Friday, Hamas called on mediators to push for the next steps under the ceasefire, including reopening the border, letting in aid,<\/a> beginning reconstruction, setting up an administration and completing Israel\u2019s withdrawal.<\/p>\n Fighting has largely stopped in Gaza under Trump\u2019s plan, endorsed by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. However, Gaza\u2019s Civil Defence Service said on Friday that 11 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle south east of Gaza City, including seven children and three women.<\/p>\n The Israeli military did not comment on the incident, and Hamas again accused Israel of violating on the ceasefire.<\/p>\n