Israel awaits return of last hostage remains from Gaza

GAZA CITY

Israel awaited the return of the last hostage remains held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the military said on Dec. 4 that those of a Thai national had been identified after they were handed over.

Under the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas was due to return all 48 hostages they held captive, 20 of whom were still alive.

All but the remains of Israeli Ran Gvili have since been handed over, though Israel has accused the Palestinian militants of dragging their feet on returning bodies.

Hamas has said the process of retrieving the remains has been slow because they have been buried under the vast piles of rubble left by two years of devastating war.

The Israeli military said on Dec. 4 that the remains of Sudthisak Rinthalak had been identified after they were handed over by Hamas and their allies Islamic Jihad a day earlier.

The handover came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 3 that phase two of his Gaza plan is “going to happen pretty soon."

Asked by reporters when the second phase would begin, Trump sidestepped the question, saying only that things were "going along well.”

"They had a problem today with a bomb that went off — hurt some people pretty badly, probably killed some people,” he said at the White House, referring to Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip that killed at least five Palestinians late on Dec. 3.

"They're telling me it just happened. But it's going on very well. We have peace in the Middle East. People don't realize it," he said.

The U.N. Security Council last month approved a resolution to create an international stabilisation force for Gaza. However, little progress has been made since then.