identified as the truce entered a second week despite facing a number of tests and with the next steps unresolved. “Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the return for burial of our beloved Eliyahu (Churchill) Margalit, of blessed memory,” a spokesperson for the kibbutz, or village, said in a statement.

 The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the identity of Margalit, who was 75 at the time he was killed in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 two years ago. His body was later taken to Gaza, the Israeli military said. “We will always remember him as a kind-hearted man whose world was filled with family, kibbutz, nature, and animals,” the kibbutz said. There are now 18 deceased hostages left in Gaza following the return of Margalit’s body.

 Frustration has intensified in Israel over the delay in returning the bodies of remaining hostages, a condition outlined in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that went into effect last week. Hamas has said that it handed over all of the hostage remains that it could access. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.

 Even so, Israel believes that Hamas does know the locations of some of the deceased hostages it claims are missing, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter, and Israel’s Foreign Minister has accused Hamas of trying to use them as bargaining chips. Hamas’ armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, has previously called for help, saying on Wednesday that “significant efforts and special equipment” are needed to recover the bodies of the remaining hostages.

 In that statement, al-Qassam Brigades said it has “abided by what was agreed upon and has handed over all the living captives in its possession and the corpses it could access.” (CNN)