“The effort to return all hostages continues without interruption and will not cease until every last hostage is brought home.”By World Israel News StaffThe body of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza was returned to Israel Thursday night, after being transferred to IDF forces and the Shin Bet by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad through the Red Cross.According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, “Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the body of a fallen hostage that was handed over to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip. From there, it was transferred to Israel, where it was received in a military ceremony with the participation of the IDF Chief Rabbi. The body will now be taken to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification. Once the process is complete, an official notice will be delivered to the family.”The statement added that all families of the deceased hostages have been informed, and that “our hearts are with them at this difficult hour. The effort to return all hostages continues without interruption and will not cease until every last hostage is brought home.”The IDF confirmed that “the coffin of the fallen hostage, now accompanied by an IDF team, crossed into Israeli territory a short time ago and is en route to the National Center of Forensic Medicine, where the identification process will take place. IDF representatives are accompanying the families, and we urge the public to act with sensitivity and await official confirmation, which will first be provided to the families.”Earlier Thursday, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced they would hand over a deceased hostage at 8:00 p.m., claiming the body had been discovered in the Morg axis area, north of Khan Younis.If the identification process confirms that this is indeed the body of a hostage, the terror organizations will still be holding three deceased hostages in clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.The post Israel receives body of hostage held in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.