Israel has officially confirmed the identification of the 10th deceased hostage who was returned by Hamas. The individual has been recognized as Eliyahu Margalit, aged 76, who was taken during an attack in Israel on October 7. Margalit, known as Churchill to his loved ones, was abducted while working at horse stables in Kibbutz Nir Oz and was subsequently moved to Gaza by Hamas.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel described Eliyahu as a heartful cowboy who had dedicated years to working at cattle branches and horse stables in Nir Oz. His passing was disclosed in December 2023, a month after his daughter, Nili, who was also held captive by Hamas, was released.
As part of a fragile peace agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the devastating bombings in Gaza, a significant hostage exchange took place. Hamas surrendered the final 20 living hostages to the Red Cross, who then transferred them to Israel. Additionally, 28 deceased hostages’ bodies were returned to Israel as stipulated by the peace deal. Four bodies were handed over on Monday, with ongoing efforts to locate and return others amidst the rubble in Gaza resulting from Israeli airstrikes.
Eliyahu Margalit’s remains mark the 10th individual returned following a temporary ceasefire. While 18 more hostages’ remains are pending return, Israel has initiated search operations using bulldozers. In response to delays in receiving the remains, Israel announced a reduction in aid deliveries to Gaza.
Tensions escalated when Israel revealed that one of the bodies returned by Hamas did not correspond to any of the hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized the importance of Hamas fulfilling the ceasefire deal requirements regarding the hostages’ bodies. He declared Israel’s unwavering commitment to retrieve all deceased hostages.
Hamas, on the other hand, blamed Israel for complicating the search for bodies beneath the rubble. As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners from its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.