Jerusalem, Nov 8 (AP) The Israeli military said Friday that the remains of a hostage had been turned over to the Red Cross in Gaza.
Militants have previously returned the bodies of 22 hostages since the start of the current ceasefire. If the remains handed over are confirmed to be those of an additional hostage that would leave five others still in Gaza.
The ceasefire, which began October 10, is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
The military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said earlier on Friday that the body of a hostage had been found in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
Hundreds of mourners attended the military funeral of an Israeli-American soldier whose body was recently returned to the country as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Capt. Omer Neutra was 21 when Hamas militants killed him and abducted his body to Gaza in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that began the war. His remains was released to Israel on Sunday night along with those of two other soldiers killed during the attack.
“Since that day, the old world stopped, turned upside down. We became broken, clinging to your memory, your smile, your voice,” said his father, Ronen Neutra. “Today we finally have a place to be with you, a place to talk to you, a place to love you, even when you're no longer here. ” Neutra was also eulogized by Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, and Israel's President Isaac Herzog.
“He is the son of two nations. He embodied the best of both the United States and Israel. Uniquely, he has firmly cemented his place in history as the hero of two countries,” said Cooper.
Orna Neutra spoke last and addressed her son's coffin. “My beloved,” she said, her voice quivering, her eyes shaded by dark sunglasses. “We are all left with the vast space between who you were to us and to the world in your life and what you were yet to become. And with the mission to fill that gap with the light and goodness that you are.” Omer Neutra was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and moved to Israel to enlist in the military as a volunteer.
After he was abducted, his parents made some 40 trips to Washington to lobby for their son, appeared regularly at protests in the U.S. and Israel and addressed the Republican National Convention last year. For more than a year following the October 7 attack, they believed Omer was still alive. After 14 months, they received word from the military that intelligence indicated he had been killed during the 2023 attack.
Six bodies of hostages now remain in Gaza. The territory's militants have released 22 bodies since the ceasefire began last month. Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on October 13. Israel has handed over 285 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which handles the exchanges.
The exchanges of the dead are the central component of the initial phase of the deal which requires Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
