TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel said the remains of another hostage that Hamas handed over the day before were identified as Eliyahu Margalit, as the Palestinian death toll surpassed 68,000 people amid searching beneath the rubble.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said Saturday that Margalit’s body was identified after testing by the National Center for Forensic Medicine and his family has been notified. The 76-year-old was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, from the horse stables where he worked in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Margalit is the 10th returned hostage body since the ceasefire went into effect over a week ago. Hamas handed over an 11th body this week, but it wasn’t that of a hostage. The effort to find the remains followed a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would green-light Israel to resume the war if Hamas doesn’t live up to its end of the deal and return all hostages’ bodies, totaling 28.
In a statement Saturday, the hostage forum, which supports the families of those abducted, said Margalit’s return brings a measure of solace to his family, but that they won’t rest until the remaining 18 hostages come home. The forum says it will continue holding weekly rallies until all remains are returned.
The handover of hostages’ remains, called for under the ceasefire agreement, has been among the key sticking points — along with aid deliveries, the opening of border crossings into Gaza and hopes for reconstruction — in a process backed by much of the international community to help end two years of devastating war in Gaza.
Hamas has said it is committed to the terms of the ceasefire deal, including the handover of bodies. However, the retrieval of bodies is hampered by the scope of the devastation and the presence of dangerous, unexploded ordnance. The group has also told mediators that some bodies are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.
Margalit’s body was found after two bulldozers plowed up pits in the earth in the city of Khan Younis.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel on Saturday also returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the International Committee of the Red Cross handed over the bodies to Nasser Hospital, bringing the total number of bodies Israel had returned to 135.
Also on Saturday the ministry of health said that more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed in the two-year-long war. The ministry said the number of dead has climbed since the ceasefire went into effect, with the majority of the newly counted dead bodies being found during recovery efforts under the rubble.
Nine Palestinians killed by Israeli fire
Meanwhile, Hamas is accusing Israel of continuing its attacks and violating the ceasefire.
On Friday the Civil Defense, a first responders’ agency operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said nine people were killed, including women and children, when their vehicle was hit by Israeli fire in Gaza City. The Civil Defense said the car crossed into an Israeli controlled area in eastern Gaza.
As part of the first phase of the ceasefire, Israel still maintains control of about half of Gaza.
The Civil Defense said that Israel could have warned the people in a manner that wasn’t lethal. The group recovered the bodies on Saturday with coordination from the U.N., it said.
Israel’s army said it saw a “suspicious vehicle” crossing the yellow line and approaching the army’s troops. It said it fired warning shots but the vehicle continued to approach in a manner that posed an “imminent threat.” It said it acted in accordance with the ceasefire.
Demands for aid
Hamas is also urging mediators to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, expedite the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and start reconstruction of the battered territory.
The flow of aid remains constrained because of continued closures of crossings and restrictions on aid groups.
United Nations data on Friday showed 339 trucks have been offloaded for distribution in Gaza since the ceasefire began a week ago. Under the agreement, some 600 humanitarian aid trucks would be allowed to enter each day.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid in Gaza, reported 950 trucks — including commercial trucks and bilateral deliveries — crossing on Thursday and 716 on Wednesday, the U.N. said
Gaza’s more than 2 million people are hoping the ceasefire will bring relief from the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive. Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid entry to Gaza — sometimes halting it altogether.
Famine was declared in Gaza City, and the U.N. says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including more than 100 children.
Israel says it let in enough food, accusing Hamas of stealing much of it. The U.N. and other aid agencies deny the claim.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in the territory. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate of wartime deaths by U.N. agencies and many independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.
Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.
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Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt
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