Hamas returns another Israeli captive’s body as Gaza suffers aid shortages
id groups call for unimpeded assistance to Gaza as displaced Palestinians turn to local community kitchens for help. Hamas has returned another body of a deceased captive to Israel as Palestinians across the Gaza Strip brace for cold winter months amid a lack of adequate shelter, food and other critical supplies. The Palestinian group announced o
n Wednesday that it was returning the remains of an Israeli captive via the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later confirmed the transfer, which now leaves six captives’ remains still in Gaza. The return of the bodies has been a major sticking point in the United States-brokered ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, with the latter accusing the Palestinian group of violating the deal by not releasing all the remains. But Hamas says retrieval efforts have been complicated by the widespread destruction in Gaza, as well as by Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and bulldozers to help with the search.