Sergeant Major Tal Haimi was identified as the hostage whose remains were returned to Israel on Monday, the IDF confirmed.
His remains arrived at the National Center of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir on Monday evening at around 10:50 p.m.
Haimi was a veteran of the IDF Paratroopers Brigade and served as the commander of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak's emergency response squad. He was murdered by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre.
Haimi's body was taken into the Gaza Strip following his murder. The IDF confirmed his death in December 2023, and his widow Ela gave birth to their fourth child in May 2024.
"Alongside the sadness and the understanding that the hearth will never be whole, the return of Tal is a kind of balm for a family that has lived in uncertainty and tormenting doubt for over two years," the Hostage and Missing Families Forum and Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak eulogized.
Earlier, Hamas said in a statement that the handover would happen at 8:00 p.m.
Hamas hands over Gaza hostage body
Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, said on Sunday that it had located the remains of one of the deceased hostages held in Gaza captivity, and it would return the individual that day if the "field conditions are suitable."
"The al-Qassam Brigades found the body of an Israeli prisoner today during ongoing search operations," the terror organization stated.
Hamas would "hand [the remains] over today if the field conditions are suitable. We emphasize that any Zionist escalation will hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies, which will delay the occupation's recovery of the bodies of its dead," the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades added.