Palestinian sources in the West Bank reported on October 16th, 2025, that the body presented by Abu Abida, spokesperson for Hamas's military wing, on May 26th as that of an Israeli soldier abducted in Jabalia, is actually Khalil Duas, a Palestinian resident of Jericho. Duas, who hailed from Jabalia, faced criminal and security charges from Palestinian authorities, according to Fatah sources. Residents of Duas's hometown in Jericho recognized him in the photo released by Hamas, prompting his family to disown him. The IDF spokesman had previously denied Hamas's claim regarding the abduction of a soldier's body. This disclosure follows recent developments where two presumed hostage bodies were returned to Israel for identification on October 15th, 2025, before 9:36 PM UTC. Israeli officials have stated that Hamas is not adequately recovering the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, hindering the advancement of a Gaza deal, a claim Hamas attributes to a lack of specialized recovery equipment. President Donald Trump commented that Hamas is "digging in search of the bodies of the hostages," noting some are long buried or under rubble.
