The body of a 75-year-old British hostage, Ilan Weiss, has been recovered from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed. Weiss was killed during the Hamas assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and his remains were taken into Gaza. His death was confirmed in December 2023.
Weiss's body was among those handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross late on Friday. The IDF said his remains were sent to the Ministry of Health's National Center for Forensic Medicine in Israel for identification. Weiss, a grandfather of three, was kidnapped while tending to his horses at Nir Oz kibbutz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that it would 'spare no effort until we return all of the fallen abductees, down to the last one'. Weiss is the 10th deceased hostage Israel has received out of 28 bodies held in Gaza.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas was obliged to return all deceased hostages. However, families of dead hostages still in Gaza have accused the government of betrayal. A protest was held on Saturday night at 'hostages square' in Tel Aviv.
Hamas, citing technical problems, has said it needs heavy machinery to locate bodies buried under rubble. Turkey sent a team of specialists to help, but they were waiting for Israeli permission to enter Gaza. The dispute over hostage remains has cast a shadow over the ceasefire agreement.
