Israeli forensic teams identified remains returned from Gaza as those of 21-year-old Tanzanian student Joshua Lolitu Mollel, who was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. The IDF said his body was repatriated Wednesday under a fragile U.S.-brokered cease-fire that secured the return of some living and deceased hostages. With Mollel's return, six bodies reportedly remain in Gaza; Israeli sources say they may know the likely location of remains from a 2014 conflict.
IDF Confirms Returned Remains Are Tanzanian Student Joshua Lolitu Mollel — Repatriated Under Cease-fire
Israeli forensic teams identified remains returned from Gaza as those of 21-year-old Tanzanian student Joshua Lolitu Mollel, who was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. The IDF said his body was repatriated Wednesday under a fragile U.S.-brokered cease-fire that secured the return of some living and deceased hostages. With Mollel's return, six bodies reportedly remain in Gaza; Israeli sources say they may know the likely location of remains from a 2014 conflict.
01:49, 07.11.2025Conflict
IDF confirms returned remains as Tanzanian student Joshua Lolitu Mollel
Israeli forensic specialists on Thursday confirmed that remains returned from Gaza this week belong to 21-year-old Joshua Lolitu Mollel, a Tanzanian national killed during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said officials notified Mollel's family that his body was returned Wednesday for burial under a fragile, U.S.-brokered cease-fire arrangement that calls for Gaza to hand back the bodies of those killed and abducted during the Oct. 7 attack.
IDF statement: The military expressed deep condolences to the family and said it remains committed to recovering and returning all deceased hostages and to continuing implementation of the agreement.
According to the IDF, Hamas militants abducted Mollel, who was working in a cowshed, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Mollel had arrived in Israel a month earlier to study agriculture at the Ibim Agricultural Campus. The IDF previously said it had confirmed his death on Dec. 13, 2023.
Under the U.S.-brokered cease-fire reached in early October, Hamas agreed to return 20 living hostages and 28 deceased who had been taken to Gaza in 2023. With Mollel's remains returned, international reporting says six bodies remain in Gaza — five Israelis and one Thai national.
Hamas has said its teams are searching amid Gaza's destruction and rubble for the remains of the dead. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Hamas of delaying the process and of returning incorrect remains.
Unnamed Israeli sources told CNN that officials believe they may have information about the likely location of the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas; those sources said the remains are likely in Rafah.
Context: This report is based on IDF announcements and international media coverage. The subject is sensitive: the IDF's statements, Hamas' remarks and unnamed sources are presented to reflect the current public record.