Israel Margalit’s body was identified after testing by the National Centre for Forensic Medicine, and his family has been notified.
Tel Aviv: Israel says the remains of another hostage that Hamas handed over the day before have been identified as Eliyahu Margalit, as the Palestinian militant group looks for more bodies under the rubble in the Gaza Strip and urges more aid to be allowed into the embattled enclave.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday Margalit’s body was identified after testing by the National Centre 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 US 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, totalling 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.
