By Billy Stockwell , Eugenia Yosef, Tal Shalev , Dana Karni , Michael Rios , CNN
Israeli forensics examiners have identified the remains of a deceased Israeli hostage handed over on Monday as those of Sergeant Major Tal Haimi, the prime minister’s office said.
Haimi was killed in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, while defending a kibbutz, the Israel Defense Forces said. He was 41 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, four children, father and sister, the IDF said.
Haimi is the 13th deceased hostage to be transferred and identified since the US-proposed Gaza ceasefire deal was signed on October 9. Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri was the previous one to be identified on Sunday.
According to the ceasefire agreement, 15 more deceased hostages remain to be transferred by Hamas.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed condolences to Haimi’s family after his body was returned for a proper burial.
“Alongside the profound grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole again, Tal’s return brings a measure of solace to a family that has lived in unbearable uncertainty and anguish for more than two years,” the group said.
A coffin carrying Haimi’s remains had arrived in Tel Aviv earlier Monday for identification after it was retrieved by the Red Cross in Gaza and then transferred into the custody of Israeli forces in the war-torn territory. The latest transfer comes amid diplomatic efforts in the region aimed at pushing forward the next phase of the Trump administration’s ceasefire plan.
The IDF called on Hamas to “take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages.”
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas was supposed to return all the living and deceased hostages within the first 72 hours of the ceasefire going into effect. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas has said “significant efforts and special equipment” are needed to recover the bodies in Gaza after two years of war caused significant destruction in the territory.
One of the bodies handed over by Hamas under the ceasefire agreement last week did not belong to an Israeli hostage, according to the Israeli military.
Initial assessments at the time suggested Hamas misidentified the body rather than intentionally sending the wrong one, an Israeli source said.
The latest news comes after the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza appears to have survived its first major test over the weekend – with both Hamas and the Israeli military accusing the other of violations – and amid anxiety in Israel over the delayed release of deceased hostages.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said Monday that the ceasefire agreement, including the return of all deceased hostages, must be fulfilled “one way or another,” according to a Knesset spokesperson.
On Sunday, Israel and Hamas affirmed their commitment to the Trump administration’s ceasefire deal after Israel accused Hamas of carrying out an attack that killed two IDF soldiers, prompting waves of airstrikes.
US President Donald Trump threatened to “eradicate” Hamas if it doesn’t abide by the agreement.
“If we have to, they’ll be eradicated, and they know that,” Trump said, warning that if the violence in Gaza continues, “we’re going to go in and straighten it out, and it’ll happen very quickly and pretty violently.”
US troops would not be involved in any renewed fighting, Trump said, insisting that other forces are in place and ready to carry out orders should he decide that Hamas has violated the ceasefire.
The ceasefire deal’s key architects, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner held lengthy meetings with senior IDF generals in Tel Aviv on Monday to discuss ceasefire arrangements in Gaza, an Israeli source with knowledge on the matter told CNN.
The source said the meetings took place in the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, during which Witkoff and Kushner met with the IDF’s head of Intelligence Directorate, Major General Shlomi Binder, and the head of the Planning Directorate, Major General Eyal Harel.
Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and the Prime Minister’s military secretary, Major General Roman Gofman, also participated, according to the source.
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