Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross a coffin containing what it says is the body of another deceased hostage, the Israeli military has reported.
The remains have been transferred to Israeli forces, who will take them to the National Centre of Foreign Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.
As part of the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel, Hamas agreed to return all 20 living and 28 dead Israeli and foreign hostages it was holding within 72 hours.
Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the dead hostages' bodies, while Hamas insists it is struggling to locate them amid rubble.
If the latest remains are confirmed as those of a dead hostage, it will mean six others remain in Gaza – including Israelis and foreign nationals.
All the remaining living Israeli hostages were released on October 13 in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Israel has also returned the bodies of 300 Palestinians in exchange for those of the Israeli hostages and two foreign hostages - one Thai and one Nepalese.
Recently, the remains of Israeli-American soldier Itay Chen, 19, were returned. Staff Sgt Chen was serving in the IDF's 7th Brigade when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The IDF stated he was killed inside a tank during a battle in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and his body was taken to Gaza as a hostage by Hamas.
The slow pace of returning hostages has hindered progress on the second phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan, which includes governance arrangements for Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, disarmament of Hamas, and reconstruction efforts.
Israel has permitted members of the Palestinian armed group and Red Cross staff to search for remains in areas still under Israeli control.
Nearly all of the dead hostages still in Gaza were part of the 251 people abducted during the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 other individuals.
In retaliation, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza, during which over 68,800 casualties have been reported according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
