Israel identified the body of a deceased hostage Sunday morning, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late Saturday night.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the body was identified as Ronen Engel. The second body is still undergoing identification at Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Engel, 54, was killed during the Oct 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border. His wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.
The move comes as Israel threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. The statement by Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.
Hamas has handed over the remains of 11 identified hostages. Israel has returned the bodies of 135 Palestinians to Gaza.
The handover of rema​Israel identified the body of a deceased hostage Sunday morning, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late Saturday night.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the body was identified as Ronen Engel. The second body is still undergoing identification at Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Engel, 54, was killed during the Oct 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border. His wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.
The move comes as Israel threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed until further notice. The statement by Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.
Hamas has handed over the remains of 11 identified hostages. Israel has returned the bodies of 135 Palestinians to Gaza.
The handover of rema ​Latest News [ SOBAN NEWS: International and National ]
