Tel Aviv / PNN / 

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that he is deeply concerned about the Islamic Jihad Movement’s delay in handing over the body of one of the captives, which the group said it had located, describing the delay as a violation of the agreement.

Netanyahu’s office stressed that the delay in transferring the captive’s remains constitutes a continued breach of the ceasefire agreement, emphasizing that adherence to the terms is essential for maintaining stability in Gaza and the surrounding areas.

On Monday evening, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, announced that it had found the remains of one of the three remaining Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement: “Today we located the body of one of the enemy’s captives during search operations in areas controlled by the Zionist army in central Gaza.”

A source within Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, said: “After several days of searching in the Maghraqah area north of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, our fighters managed to recover the body of one of the remaining three enemy captives, as part of our efforts to close this file.”

With the discovery and potential handover of these remains, Hamas will have delivered 26 bodies out of a total of 28 since the current ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on October 10. Two Israeli bodies are still expected to be transferred subsequently, in line with the terms of the agreement.