In exchange, Israel has released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians. The return of their remains is fundamental to conclude the first phase of the ceasefire initiated on October 10. Since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas has handed over 20 hostages alive and 27 bodies. Jerusalem sent a high-level delegation to Cairo to hold talks with mediators, aiming to secure the "immediate return" of the remains of the last hostage remaining in Gaza. According to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the delegation is headed by Gal Hirsch, the Israeli coordinator for hostages and missing persons, and includes key representatives from the army, the Shin Bet security agency, and the Mossad intelligence agency, learned the Argentine News Agency. Following the meeting, the office stated that it was agreed to "focus intensive and immediate efforts to fully complete the mission of recovering hostages," although no specific details were offered. Context of the returns The urgency in the negotiation comes after Israel confirmed that the remains handed over by Hamas a day earlier corresponded to Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker killed in the kibutz Be'eri during the October 7, 2023 attack. With this recent handover, only one hostage body remains in Gaza: that of Ran Gvili, an Israeli officer from the Yasam special anti-disturbances unit.
