The armed wing of the terrorist group Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Wednesday that it will hand over to Israel the body of another hostage kidnapped during the attacks of October 7, 2023. According to the statement released via Telegram, the handover will take place at 9:00 p.m. (local time) with the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The organization indicated that the body was found in the Shujaia neighborhood, east of the city of Gaza, and that the return is part of the prisoner exchange agreement linked to the operation called by Hamas “Al Aqsa Flood.”
Controversy over Israeli drone video
Hamas's announcement comes amid a new controversy. A video recorded by an Israeli Army drone just over a week ago showed alleged members of the terrorist group digging a grave and moving human remains. For the Israeli government, those images would demonstrate that Hamas knows the location of the bodies of the hostages it has not yet returned and that it is hiding information.
In response, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades denied the accusations and stated that Israel “supervised with drones the resistance's efforts to recover the bodies” and that it later bombed the sites where the bodies were located, even after the ceasefire of October 10. According to its version, the group resorted to “deceptive methods” to prevent the Israeli Army from locating the recovery areas.
