(Reuters) -Israel has received the body of what is believed to be a deceased hostage from Palestinian militants in Gaza via the Red Cross, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Israeli military said on Thursday.
The body, the army said, is already back inside Israel and is on its way to forensic experts for identification.
If confirmed as a hostage, this would leave the remains of three hostages still held in Gaza.
"The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the
last hostage is returned," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Earlier, the armed wings of militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they would hand over the body of a hostage at 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), though Israel had said it had not received any official notification of a planned transfer.
Islamic Jihad, which is allied with Hamas and also seized hostages during the October 7, 2023, attack that precipitated the Gaza war, said the body was recovered in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Under an October ceasefire deal, Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees held by Israel.
The agreement also provided for the return of the remains of 28 hostages in exchange for the remains of 360 militants.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai and Steven Scheer and Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem, Editing by William Maclean, Andrew Heavens and Deepa Babington)
