Israel identifies the latest remains returned from Gaza as hostage Dror Or

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel had identified the latest remains returned from Gaza as hostage Dror Or.

That leaves the bodies of two hostages in Gaza as the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement nears a conclusion.

Palestinian militants released Or’s remains Tuesday.

Israel has agreed to release 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage returned.

Dror Or was killed by Islamic Jihad militants who overran his home in Kibbutz Beeri on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s military said. His wife, Yonat Or, was also killed in the attack.

That day, Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and abducted 251 to Gaza. Kibbutz Beeri was one of the hardest-hit farming communities in that attack that started the war in Gaza.

Two of Or’s children, Alma and Noam, were abducted by the militants on Oct. 7 and released in a hostage deal in November 2023.

Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals. The remains of two — one Israeli and one Thai national— are still in Gaza.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 69,700 Palestinians have been killed and 170,800 injured in Israel’s retaliatory offensive. The toll has increased during the ceasefire both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures but has said women and children make up a majority of those killed. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.