The Israeli prime minister's office said that, following the completion of forensic tests at the National Centre of Forensic Medicine, the foreign ministry had informed the 21-year-old student's family. Mollel was undertaking an agricultural internship in southern Israel when Hamas-led gunmen attacked on 7 October 2023. He was killed at Kibbutz Nahal Oz and his body was then taken by fighters. His return means six deceased hostages - five Israelis and one Thai - are still in Gaza.

"The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Mollel family and all the families of the fallen hostages," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement on Thursday. It also stressed that Hamas was required to return all the deceased hostages under the ceasefire deal, adding that Israeli authorities would "spare no effort until we return all of the fallen hostages, every last one of them." The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel said: "Amid their grief and the knowledge that their hearts will never fully heal, Joshua's return offers some comfort to a family that has endured unbearable uncertainty for over two years." Before handing over Mollel's remains to the Red Cross in Gaza on Wednesday evening, Hamas's military wing said that it had recovered a hostage's body in the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City. In recent days, Israel has allowed members of Hamas and Red Cross staff to search for remains in the area, which is inside territory still controlled by Israeli forces. The body of Israel-US soldier Staff Sgt Itay Chen was found there on Tuesday. (BBC)