The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that a coffin containing the remains of a deceased hostage has been handed over from Hamas to Israel with assistance from the Red Cross.

According to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the body is being transported from the Gaza Strip and will be honored in a military ceremony led by a military rabbi.

Hamas claimed that the body was recovered on Sunday. If this is confirmed as one of the hostages, it would leave the remains of 15 hostages still in Gaza. Israel noted that a body returned by Hamas last week did not belong to a hostage.

The identification process will be conducted by the National Center of Forensic Medicine under Israel’s Ministry of Health, after which the family of the deceased will be informed, as per Netanyahu’s office.

Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, a poignant scene unfolded as a member of the Nepal Army paid tribute to the coffin of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student who tragically died while being held hostage in Gaza. This occurred at Tribhuvan International Airport on October 20, 2025, following its return under a ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement.

“We have informed all the families of the deceased hostages about the situation, and we stand with them during this challenging time,” Netanyahu’s office conveyed. “Our efforts to bring back our hostages are ongoing and will not stop until every last one is returned.”

“Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages,” the IDF said on X. 

The terror group last week said it needed specialized equipment and more time to recover more bodies.

Members of the Hamas militant group searching for bodies of the hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo)

Earlier on Monday, it was announced that the remains of Nepali student Bipin Joshi, who was held hostage in Gaza, were being flown from Israel to his hometown of Bhimdattanagar.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of Israeli hostage Tamir Nimrodi, a soldier who, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, was kidnapped alive from his military base during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, and whose body was returned to Israel as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, at his funeral in Kfar Saba, Israel, Oct. 16, 2025.  (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

The transfer happened after the week-old ceasefire resumed after clashes between Hamas and Israel over the weekend.