Remains of another hostage return to Israel, Israeli military says

The remains of another deceased hostage crossed into Israel after being handed over to the Red Cross on Monday evening local time, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement posted on social media. 

There were thought to be 16 remains of deceased hostages still in Gaza before this handover, with 12 confirmed sets of remains already transferred. 

The individual’s identity wasn’t immediately known. The IDF asked that the “public act with sensitivity and wait for the official identification, which will first be provided to the families.”

“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages,” it said in an earlier statement. 

The return of all the hostages — 20 living and 28 dead — is a cornerstone of the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan. Hamas was supposed to have completed the handover by Monday, Oct. 13, but only returned the 20 living hostages by that deadline.

The return of the remains on Monday comes after U.S. senior envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to try to keep the  peace process on track following a bout of violence over the weekend. 

Netanyahu said Monday the military dropped almost 169 tons of bombs in the Gaza Strip over the weekend. The IDF said it launched the strikes after two soldiers were killed when Hamas operatives opened fire with an RPG. Hamas has rejected Israel’s claim that it was involved in that attack.

The skies over Gaza were quiet again on Monday, and both sides recommitted to the peace process.

Vice President JD Vance was due to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Trump’s two peace envoys later this week. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Netanyahu’s office, said Monday that Vance and his wife are expected to be in Israel “for a few days and will be meeting with the prime minister,” but neither she nor the White House have confirmed dates for the visit.

The IDF said on Monday it was marking a so-called “yellow line” – the line to which Israeli troops withdrew as part of the peace plan.