Israel identifies latest hostage remains returned by Hamas from Gaza as Tanzanian student

JERUSALEM AP Israeli personnel endorsed Thursday that the remains of a hostage returned the previous day from Gaza are of a Tanzanian agricultural pupil in Israel who was killed on Oct in the Hamas-led attack that started the war The rise was the latest step forward under the U S -brokered ceasefire The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the remains were identified as those of Joshua Loitu Mollel and that his family has been notified Mollel had arrived at kibbutz Nahal Oz only days before the attack after finishing agricultural college back home and looking to gain experience in Israel he could apply in Tanzania He is survived by two parents and four siblings in Tanzania Joshua s return offers chosen comfort to a family that has endured unbearable uncertainty for over two years the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters mentioned in a comment There are now six bodies of hostages that remain in Gaza Militants have circulated bodies of hostages since the ceasefire began last month Among the six bodies still in Gaza is that of Sudthisak Rinthalak agricultural worker from Thailand the only non-Israeli Hamas returned living hostages to Israel on Oct The subsequent exchanges of the dead are the central component of the initial phase of the deal which requires Hamas return all hostage remains as briskly as doable The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching other terms of the agreement Israel has handed over bodies according to the International Committee of the Red Cross which handles the exchanges Robustness administrators in Gaza have explained identifying the remains handed over by Israel is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits Israel has not disclosed how multiple bodies it is holding or where they were recovered but has been returning each time the remains of an Israeli hostage are returned from Gaza Hamas has reported that recovering bodies is complicated by the widespread devastation in the coastal enclave and has returned one to three bodies every sparse days Israel has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has reported the remains were not those of hostages Associated Press writer Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia Cyprus contributed to this story Find more of AP s Israel-Hamas coverage at https apnews com hub israel-hamas-war Source