Israel Receives Body of Hostage Itay Chen from Hamas Amid Fragile Gaza Ceasefire

Israel confirmed on Tuesday that it had received the body of Staff Sergeant Itay Chen from Hamas through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza. According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Chen’s remains were formally identified following their handover. Hamas claimed it had discovered the body in Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City, where the group said Israeli forces had allowed joint access for recovery operations.

The exchange occurred under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began on October 10, allowing Hamas to release all 20 surviving hostages in Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. As part of the agreement, Hamas pledged to return the remains of deceased hostages but has cited the extensive destruction across Gaza as a challenge to locating all bodies. Israel has accused the group of delaying the process.

So far, Hamas has returned 21 of the 28 Israeli hostages’ bodies believed to be buried in Gaza, while Israel has handed over 270 bodies of Palestinians killed since the conflict erupted in October 2023, according to Gaza health officials.

The war began after Hamas-led militants launched a deadly cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israel’s extensive military campaign in Gaza has killed over 68,000 Palestinians, health officials in the enclave report.

Despite the ongoing ceasefire, violence continues sporadically. Palestinian health officials claim that Israeli strikes have killed 239 people since the truce took effect, including nearly half in a single day last week following a militant assault. Israel reported three soldiers killed and dozens of militants targeted near its withdrawal lines.

Chen was serving as a soldier when he was captured during Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel.