Israel has officially identified the body returned by Hamas on Thursday as that of Meny Godard, who was 73 when he was killed during the deadly attacks on 7 October 2023. Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were among those killed in Hamas’ raid on kibbutz Be’eri.
The Red Cross collected Godard’s remains after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed his location in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. Forensic testing by Israel confirmed the identity of the body.
As part of the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire plan, Hamas has now returned all 20 living hostages and 25 of 28 deceased hostages. The living hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Under the deal, Israel has agreed to return the remains of 15 Palestinians for each deceased Israeli hostage. However, the lack of DNA testing in Gaza complicates the identification of Palestinian bodies.
During the 7 October attacks, Hamas seized 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people. Israel’s retaliatory strikes have reportedly killed over 69,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities recognized by the UN.
Currently, three Israeli hostages’ bodies remain in Gaza—two Israeli and one Thai. While Israel accuses Hamas of delaying recovery, Hamas claims it is struggling to locate bodies beneath the rubble. This slow progress has stalled the second phase of the US Gaza peace plan, which covers Gaza governance, Israeli troop withdrawal, Hamas disarmament, and reconstruction efforts.
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