JERUSALEM, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A body handed over by Hamas was identified as that of a U.S.-Israeli soldier who served in the Israeli army and was abducted during the group's October 2023 assault, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the office said the remains were those of Itay Chen. The military said Chen, 19, served as a combat soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade near the Gaza border. He was killed during the surprise attack and his body was taken into Gaza.

Hamas handed over his body to Israeli forces through the Red Cross in Gaza, as part of an exchange under the ongoing ceasefire.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas said it had found the body of an Israeli soldier who had been held hostage in Gaza. The group said the remains were discovered in Shuja'iyya, an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City still under Israeli control, after Israel allowed access to the site for Hamas and Red Cross teams.

Before the latest handover, Hamas had returned the remains of 20 hostages to Israel under the current ceasefire.

The ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, has sharply reduced Israeli attacks but not halted them entirely. At least 240 Palestinians have been killed and 607 wounded by Israeli fire since Oct. 11, according to the Gaza Health authorities, bringing the overall death toll from Israeli strikes since October 2023 to nearly 70,000. ■