Red Cross receives body of Gaza hostage

Jerusalem: The Israeli military said the Red Cross had received on Tuesday the remains of a hostage held in Gaza, under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

'According to information provided by the Red Cross, a coffin of a deceased hostage has been transferred into its custody and is on the way to IDF (Israeli) troops in the Gaza Strip,' the military said in a statement.

A source in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, confirmed the remains belonged to one of the last three hostages held by militants in the territory.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad had earlier announced they would hand over the remains of a Gaza hostage at 1400 GMT.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad said it had located the body of a hostage on Monday during search operations in the central Gaza Strip.

Israel said on Tuesday that the delay in handing over the remains was a 'violation' of the fragile ceasefire.

'In light of the Islamic Jihad's announcement regarding the location of findings related to a deceased hostage, Israel views with severity the delay in their immediate transfer,' the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

'This constitutes a further violation of the agreement. Israel demands the immediate return of the three deceased hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip,' it added.

At the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on October 10, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.

Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 25 dead hostages in line with the ceasefire terms.

In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.