Hamas, Islamic Jihad say to hand over Gaza hostage body at 1800 GMT
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would hand over the remains of another hostage on Thursday as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel in Gaza.
"The Al-Quds Brigades and the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of one of the occupation's captives, which was found today in the Morag area north of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip, at 8:00 pm Gaza time (1800 GMT)," a Hamas statement said.
At the start of the truce, which came into effect on October 10, Hamas was holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.
It has since released all the living hostages and returned 24 of the deceased's remains, in line with the ceasefire terms.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians.
Israel has accused Hamas of dragging its feet in returning the bodies of deceased hostages, while the Palestinian group says the process is slow because many are buried beneath Gaza's rubble after two years of war.
Source: Agence France Presse
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