Hamas To Hand Over Hostage Body As Gaza Ceasefire Holds Amid Strikes

Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held in Israel.

05 Nov 2025, 18:41 · NDTV

Cairo:

Hamas' armed wing said it would hand over the body of a hostage at 9 pm (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, while the Israeli military said it had killed two Palestinians who had approached an area it occupied in a "threatening" way.

Gazan health authorities said that Israeli fire had killed a Palestinian collecting firewood. The Israeli military was not able to immediately clarify to Reuters whether the incidents were related.

Despite near-daily violence, Israel and Hamas have continued to exchange bodies under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10.

Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held in Israel. Hamas also promised to turn over the remains of hostages, but says the devastation in Gaza has made locating bodies difficult. Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.

Hamas has so far returned 21 of the 28 bodies of hostages buried in Gaza. In return, Israel handed over 285 bodies of Palestinians who had been killed since the war began in October 2023, Gaza health authorities said.

Israel has continued to intermittently strike the Gaza Strip, although the degree of violence has diminished since the ceasefire, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes and more aid to enter.

Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities to behind a yellow demarcation line.

The ceasefire was mediated by the United States, and both sides have appealed to Washington to halt violations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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