Israel has confirmed that remains handed over by Hamas on Wednesday night are those of Tanzanian national Joshua Loitu Mollel, a 21-year-old agricultural trainee who was killed during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that forensic examinations identified the remains, and that Mollel’s family had been notified. “The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Mollel family,” the statement read.
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Mollel had travelled to Israel just two weeks before the attack to begin an agronomy internship at the Ibim Agricultural Campus in southern Israel. According to Israeli authorities, he was killed at a cowshed in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, one of the communities overrun during the assault, and his body was taken into Gaza by militants. Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had officially confirmed his death in December 2023.
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He is survived by his parents, three sisters, and a brother.
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Hamas stated that Mollel’s remains were recovered in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City. The transfer took place through the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of an ongoing exchange arrangement tied to the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
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Under the truce, Hamas has so far returned the bodies of 22 hostages, while Israeli officials say five more hostage remains — four Israelis and one Thai citizen — are still believed to be in Gaza.
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In parallel, Gaza health authorities reported receiving 15 Palestinian bodies from Israel on Wednesday, bringing the total number returned to Palestinians to 285.
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Since the ceasefire began on October 10, Hamas has released 20 Israeli hostages alive. In return, Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and around 1,800 detainees from Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.
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The return of Mollel’s remains has once again highlighted the international dimension of the October 7 attack, which affected citizens from multiple countries working or studying in Israel’s southern agricultural sector.
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