The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that a coffin containing the remains of a deceased hostage was returned from Hamas to Israel, facilitated by the Red Cross.

According to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the remains will be transported from the Gaza Strip and honored in a military ceremony, which will include the presence of a military rabbi.

Hamas reported that the body was retrieved on Sunday. Should this be verified as a hostage’s remains, there would still be 15 hostages unaccounted for in Gaza. A previous body handed over by Hamas last week was determined by Israel not to belong to a hostage.

The identification process will be conducted by Israel’s Ministry of Health’s National Center of Forensic Medicine, after which the deceased’s family will be informed, as stated by Netanyahu’s office.

At Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on October 20, 2025, a Nepal Army member solemnly paid final respects to the coffin of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student who lost his life while held hostage in Gaza. His remains were returned following a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with Hamas. (Image: Prakash Mathema/AFP)

“All families of the deceased hostages have been updated about the matter, and at this difficult time, our hearts are with them,” Netanyahu’s office said. “The effort to return our hostages continues continuously and will not cease until the last hostage is returned.”

“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages,” the IDF said on X. 

The terror group last week said it needed specialized equipment and more time to recover more bodies.

Members of the Hamas militant group searching for bodies of the hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo)

Earlier on Monday, it was announced that the remains of Nepali student Bipin Joshi, who was held hostage in Gaza, were being flown from Israel to his hometown of Bhimdattanagar.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Israeli hostage Tamir Nimrodi, a soldier who, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, was kidnapped alive from his military base during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, and whose body was returned to Israel as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, at his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, Oct. 16, 2025.  (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

The transfer happened after the week-old ceasefire resumed after clashes between Hamas and Israel over the weekend.