Israel receives body of another hostage as Palestinian deaths reported in Gaza

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CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel received the remains of another hostage from Gaza on Wednesday, the prime minister’s office said, after Hamas’ armed wing transferred a body found near Gaza City to the Red Cross.

Israel’s forensics authority will confirm the identity of the remains, the office said. If proven to belong to a hostage, there would be six remaining deceased hostages in Gaza.

Separately, the Israeli military said it had killed two Palestinians in Gaza, saying they approached an Israeli-controlled area in a “threatening” way.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire also killed a Palestinian collecting firewood in central Gaza. The Israeli military said it was not aware of an incident in that area.

Despite near daily violence, the process of returning hostage remains to Israel has continued under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10 in the two-year-old war.

Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held in Israel. Hamas also promised to turn over the remains of 28 deceased hostages, but said the devastation in Gaza has made locating bodies difficult. Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.

Israel has continued to intermittently strike the Gaza Strip, but the violence has diminished since the ceasefire began, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes and more aid to enter.

Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities to behind a yellow demarcation line.

(Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi, Pesha Magid, Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Alison Williams, Sharon Singleton and Cynthia Osterman)