Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza commenced on October 10, Palestinian militants have returned the remains of 25 hostages. However, the repatriation of the remains of the three remaining hostages, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, is advancing at a sluggish pace. Hamas has indicated difficulties in accessing all remains, claiming they are buried beneath rubble caused by Israel’s two-year military offensive in Gaza.

Israel has accused militants of delaying the process and has threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned. Recently, Palestinian militants returned the remains of Meny Godard, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel. His wife, Ayelet, was killed during the initial attack on October 7. Before enlisting in the Israeli military and fighting in the 1973 Mideast War, Godard was a professional soccer player and held various roles within the kibbutz, including responsibilities at its printing press. The armed wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad reported that Godard's body was recovered from southern Gaza.

In return, Israel has released the bodies of 330 Palestinians back to Gaza. Health officials in Gaza are struggling to identify the returned bodies due to a lack of access to DNA testing kits. Of the 330 bodies returned, only 95 have been identified according to the Gaza Health Ministry. This ministry, under the Hamas-run government, asserts that it maintains detailed records that are generally regarded as reliable by independent experts. However, Israel has not disclosed the identities of these 330 individuals, and it remains unclear if they were part of those killed during the October 7 attacks or Palestinian detainees who died while in Israeli custody.

Among the hostages whose remains have yet to be recovered are Ran Gvili, Dror Or, and Sudthisak Rinthalak. Ran Gvili, aged 24, served in an elite police unit and was responding to the ongoing crisis on October 7 after suffering a broken shoulder in a motorcycle accident. After helping individuals escape from the Nova music festival site, he was subsequently killed in combat, with his body later confirmed to have been taken to Gaza four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

Dror Or, aged 52, was a father of three and worked for 15 years at Kibbutz Be’eri, where he managed the dairy farm and was known for his cheesemaking skills. On October 7, while hiding from militants in their safe room, he and his wife, Yonat, were killed when their home was set ablaze. Their two children, Noam and Alma, were abducted but later released during the ceasefire in November 2023.

Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand employed at Kibbutz Be’eri. Reports indicate that he was divorced and had been working in Israel since 2017. On October 7, a total of 31 workers from Thailand were kidnapped, marking the largest group of foreign nationals taken hostage. Most of these individuals were released during the first and second ceasefires. Furthermore, the Thai Foreign Ministry reported that 46 Thai nationals have been killed amid the ongoing conflict.

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