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Israel has confirmed that the body transferred by Hamas on Thursday is that of 73-year-old Meny Godard, one of the victims of the 7 October 2023 attacks.
His remains were collected by Red Cross vehicles after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement announcing that his body had been located in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza.
According to the Israeli prime minister’s office, forensic specialists verified Godard’s identity following detailed examinations.
Godard and his wife, Ayelet, were killed during the Hamas assault on Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities during the unprecedented raids that left 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage.
The return of Godard’s body marks another step in the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, part of a broader US initiative to wind down the Gaza conflict.
Under the deal, Hamas has returned all 20 living Israeli hostages and 25 of the 28 known deceased hostages. In exchange, Israel has released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
The agreement also stipulates that for every deceased Israeli hostage returned, Israel will hand over the remains of 15 Palestinians. However, the process has been slowed by the near-total absence of DNA testing capabilities in Gaza, making the identification of Palestinian remains difficult and sometimes impossible.
Hamas says the ongoing destruction in Gaza has made it challenging to recover bodies still buried beneath rubble. Israel, however, has accused the group of intentionally delaying the return of the remaining three bodies—two Israeli and one Thai.
These delays have intensified frustration among families and complicated diplomatic efforts tied to the next phase of the negotiated framework.
Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas, reports that more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign. The United Nations continues to treat the ministry’s casualty figures as credible, citing the scale of the humanitarian crisis and the collapse of local infrastructure.
The stalled recovery of the remaining hostages’ bodies has emerged as a major obstacle preventing movement toward the second stage of US President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan.
That phase outlines a roadmap for future governance of Gaza, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces, the disarmament of Hamas, and the launch of reconstruction efforts across the devastated territory.
For now, both sides remain locked in a tense holding pattern. Israel insists that Hamas must accelerate recovery efforts, while Hamas maintains that the ongoing bombardment and widespread destruction have hindered its ability to locate the remaining bodies.
As families await closure and diplomatic pressure mounts, uncertainty continues to overshadow hopes for progress in the fragile ceasefire process.