The Israeli military announced today that the remains of two hostages recovered from Gaza have been identified and that they are the Tamir Andar and Arie Zalmanovic.

THE Tamir Andara 38-year-old non-commissioned officer, was killed when the unprecedented raid by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas was launched in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Arie Zalmanovic85 years old when he died, according to the Israeli army, was a farmer, one of the founders of the kibbutz Nir Oz.

The latter had appeared in 2023 in a video released by Hamas and reported that he had suffered a heart attack, without this being able to be confirmed. His death was confirmed by the kibbutz Nir Oz in December 2023.

The repatriation of his remains Zalmanovic and his Andar reduced the body count of prisoners still being held in the Gaza Strip from 15 to 13. At the start of the ceasefire on 10 October, the bodies of 28 dead hostages were being held within the Gaza Strip.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the last 20 hostages alive last Monday, within 72 hours of Israel’s withdrawal from the Yellow Line. Hamas also returned the remains of 15 hostages during the ceasefire.

Among the remaining bodies of hostages is a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 Gaza war — the last captured before the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

On the other hand, Mr Red Cross said on Tuesday that it had facilitated the transfer of 15 Palestinian bodies from Israel to Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement, bringing the total number of those handed over to 165.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today facilitated the transfer of dead Palestinians to authorities in Gaza… Local health authorities in Gaza confirmed that the number of dead received today is 15”the Red Cross said in a statement.

Under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Israel returns the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every body of a hostage returned, The Times of Israel notes.