Gaza Ceasefire: Hostage Bodies Exchanged Amid Tensions

In a significant step under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad announced it would hand over the body of a deceased hostage on Friday evening.

As part of the October agreement, Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees held in Israel. Further, they vowed to return the remains of 28 deceased hostages in exchange for 360 militant bodies. So far, 22 hostages' remains have been swapped for 285 Palestinian bodies.

The body, found in Khan Younis, will be handed over at 2100 local time. The October 7, 2023, attack, which began the conflict, saw 251 hostages seized and 1,200 people killed, according to Israeli reports, while Gaza health officials report 69,000 Palestinians dead post-ceasefire, including 241 since it began.