Israel identifies latest remains returned from Gaza as hostage Dror Or

A Red Cross convoy carrying the remains of a person believed to be Dror Or makes its way towards the border crossing with Israel on Tuesday Picture: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel had identified the latest remains returned from Gazaas hostage Dror Or.

That leaves the bodies of two hostages in Gaza as the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement nears a conclusion.

Palestinian militants released Mr Or’s remains on Tuesday.

Israel has agreed to release 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage returned.

The Red Cross convoy carrying the remains in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

Mr Or was killed by Islamic Jihad militants who overran his home in Kibbutz Beeri on October 7 2023, Israel’s military said. His wife, Yonat Or, was also killed in the attack.

That day, Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and abducted 251 to Gaza. Kibbutz Beeri was one of the hardest-hit farming communities in that attack that started the war in Gaza.

Two of Mr Or’s children, Alma and Noam, were abducted by the militants on October 7 and released in a hostage deal in November 2023.

Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals. The remains of two – one Israeli and one Thai national – are still in Gaza.

Ran Gvili, 24, who served in an elite police unit, was recovering from a broken shoulder he sustained in a motorcycle accident but rushed to assist fellow officers on October 7.

After helping people escape from the Nova music festival, he was killed fighting at another location and his body was taken to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later.

Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri.

A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted on October 7, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 69,700 Palestinians have been killed and 170,800 injured in Israel’s retaliatory offensive.

The toll has increased during the ceasefire both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures but has said women and children make up a majority of those killed.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.