On November 5, 2025, a somber exchange unfolded at the Gaza-Israel border as Hamas handed over to the Red Cross a coffin containing what it said were the remains of another deceased Israeli hostage. The handover, confirmed by multiple sources including the Israeli military and the International Committee of the Red Cross, marked the latest step in a painstaking process that has come to define the aftermath of the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. The remains were transferred to Israeli forces and, as announced by the prime minister’s office, will be taken to the National Centre of Foreign Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.
This latest exchange is part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that began nearly a month ago, with the first phase requiring Hamas to return all 20 living and 28 dead Israeli and foreign hostages within 72 hours. As of November 5, Hamas has returned 21 deceased hostages—including 19 Israelis, a Thai national, and a Nepali citizen—excluding the latest handover. If the remains are confirmed as those of a dead hostage, six others, both Israelis and foreign nationals, are still believed to be in Gaza.
The process of returning the dead has been fraught with delays and accusations. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of deliberately stalling the recovery of hostages’ bodies, while Hamas insists that the widespread devastation in Gaza—much of it reduced to rubble by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations—has made locating the bodies nearly impossible. According to France 24, the Israeli military has urged the public to wait for official confirmation of the deceased’s identity, underscoring the sensitivity and uncertainty surrounding each transfer.
Wednesday’s handover was not the first of the week. On November 4, the remains of Itay Chen, the last and youngest American hostage held in Gaza, were returned to Israel. Chen, who was just 19 years old and a dual citizen, was serving in the Israeli military on October 7, 2023, when he was killed defending civilians near the Gaza border during the Hamas-led attack that triggered the war. His family endured more than two years of anguish, refusing to perform Jewish mourning rites until his body was returned. In a statement shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Chen’s mother, Hagit, said, “There is no joy in laying your child to rest, but there is relief and there is peace for the soul.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio honored Chen’s life, stating, “We honor his life, mourn his loss and stand with his family.”
The return of Chen’s remains followed the transfer of three other hostages’ bodies, including Israeli-American Omer Neutra, on November 2. These exchanges have been coordinated through the Red Cross, which has played a central role in facilitating the delicate negotiations and physical transfers between the parties. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Israel has so far handed over 285 bodies of Palestinians in exchange for the remains of Israeli and foreign hostages—part of an agreement under which Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies for every dead hostage received from Gaza.
Despite the progress, the process remains agonizingly slow. Israel has accused Hamas of handing over partial remains in some cases and staging the discovery of bodies in others. Hamas, for its part, has blamed Israel for opening fire on civilians and restricting humanitarian aid, which it says complicates the already difficult search for remains. The ceasefire agreement itself, which began on October 10, 2025, has not been without breaches, with both sides trading accusations of violations even as the number of casualties has dropped since the truce took effect.
The initial phase of the ceasefire deal cannot proceed to subsequent stages until all Israeli hostage remains are returned. According to AP, the next parts of the 20-point plan include the creation of an international stabilization force in Gaza, though its composition and mandate remain under negotiation. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized, “Whatever entity that is created in Gaza should have the legitimacy of a mandate from the Security Council.”
As the handovers continue, Israel is also gathering intelligence on the location of the longest-held remains in Gaza. Two Israeli sources told CNN that the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed in the final days of the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, are likely held in Rafah in southern Gaza, near an area where up to 200 Hamas militants are believed to be hiding in an underground tunnel. However, the Israel Defense Forces clarified that it had “no information” that Goldin’s body was being held in the tunnel itself. Goldin is the only deceased hostage taken before October 7, 2023, and his family has been vocal about not allowing any concessions to Hamas until his body and those of the other hostages are returned.
The backdrop to these exchanges is the staggering human cost of the conflict. The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel responded with a sweeping military campaign in Gaza that, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians as of November 2025. The ministry, staffed by medical professionals and generally considered reliable by independent experts, maintains detailed records, though Israel disputes the figures and has faced accusations from a U.N. commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide—charges Israel denies.
The exchanges of bodies, while a grim necessity, have provided a measure of closure for some families and have become a central component of the fragile ceasefire. Yet, for many, the pain remains acute and the process incomplete. As Ruby Chen, Itay’s father, described the family’s ordeal: “We were dead men walking,” adding that the return of his son’s remains is now “saving the living” and allowing relatives to “be whole” after years of anguish.
For now, the handover of remains continues amid the ruins of Gaza and the watchful eyes of the world, each coffin a symbol of both loss and the faint hope for resolution in a conflict that has already exacted a terrible price on both sides.
