1. Home
2. Arab World
3. Islamic Jihad Says Found Body of One of Last Three Gaza Hostages

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said it had found the body of one of the last three hostages held in Gaza on Monday.

"Today we found the body of one of the enemy prisoners during search operations in areas controlled by the Zionist (Israeli) army in the central Gaza Strip," the al-Quds Brigades said in a statement.

A source in Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, confirmed the body belonged to one of the last three hostages held by militants in the territory.

At the start of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on October 10, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.

Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 25 dead hostages, in line with the ceasefire terms.

In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.

AFP