Israel Identifies the Remains of Another Hostage

76-year-old Eliyahu Margalit is the 10th body returned by Hamas, with 18 left to find
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 18, 2025 6:59 AM CDT
Israel Identifies the Remains of Another Hostage
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians sits adjacent to destroyed homes and buildings in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.   (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israel says the remains of another hostage that Hamas handed over the day before have been identified as Eliyahu Margalit, reports the AP, as the Palestinian militant group looks for more bodies under the rubble in the Gaza Strip and urges more aid to be allowed into the embattled enclave. Israel's Prime Minister's Office said Saturday Margalit's body was identified after testing by the National Center for Forensic Medicine and his family has been notified. The 76-year-old was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, from the horse stables where he worked in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Margalit is the 10th returned hostage body since the ceasefire went into effect over a week ago. Hamas handed over an 11th body this week, but it wasn't that of a hostage. The effort to find the remains followed a warning from President Trump that he would green-light Israel to resume the war if Hamas doesn't live up to its end of the deal and return all hostages' bodies, totaling 28. In a statement Saturday, the hostage forum, which supports the families of those abducted, said Margalit's return brings a measure of solace to his family, but that they won't rest until the remaining 18 hostages come home. The forum says it will continue holding weekly rallies until all remains are returned.

The handover of hostages' remains, called for under the ceasefire agreement, has been among the key sticking points—along with aid deliveries, the opening of border crossings into Gaza, and hopes for reconstruction—in a process backed by much of the international community to help end two years of devastating war in Gaza. Hamas has said it is committed to the terms of the ceasefire deal, including the handover of bodies. However, the retrieval of bodies is hampered by the scope of the devastation and the presence of dangerous, unexploded ordnance. The group has also told mediators that some bodies are in areas controlled by Israeli troops. Margalit's body was found after two bulldozers plowed up pits in the earth in the city of Khan Younis.

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