The Israeli military on Wednesday said that Hamas has handed over the remains believed to be of a deceased hostage to the Red Cross in Gaza. The military said in a statement that the remains were being brought to Israeli forces to be returned to Israel. The handover is the latest sign of progress under the US-brokered ceasefire that began on October 10. Ahead of the announcement, Hamas had returned the remains of 21 hostages to Israel under the ceasefire terms. If the latest remains are confirmed during forensic testing, that would leave the remains of six others in Gaza. Officials at Gaza`s largest functioning hospital said on Wednesday that the bodies of 15 more Palestinians were returned from Israel, as exchanges outlined in last month`s fragile ceasefire went ahead despite allegations of violations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has transported 285 bodies held in Israeli custody to Gaza since last month`s agreement was brokered, though health officials in Gaza have said identifying the remains is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits. Israel has not disclosed how many bodies it is holding or where they were recovered, but has been returning 15 each time the remains of an Israeli hostage are returned from Gaza.