The armed wing of Hamas says it has found the body of an Israeli soldier who had been held hostage by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, and that it would hand over the body.

Hamas said the body was found in Shejaia, an eastern suburb of Gaza City in an area still occupied by Israeli forces, after Israel granted access to the location for teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Hamas said the body would be hand over at 8pm on Tuesday.

Under a ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10, Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in the Gaza Strip in return for nearly 2000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held in Israel.

Hamas also promised to turn over the remains of deceased hostages but says the war devastation has made locating bodies

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