Israeli authorities have handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, escalating efforts to repatriate bodies amid ongoing hostage exchanges.
The transfer, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), brings the total number of Palestinian bodies returned since the truce’s inception to 135, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
This latest handover adheres to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, negotiated by United States President Donald Trump, which mandates Israel to release the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned by Hamas.
The move also follows Hamas’s delivery late Friday of another Israeli hostage’s remains—identified as 75-year-old Eliyahu Margalit—prompting the reciprocal action.
Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has handed over the bodies of nine Israelis and one Nepalese student.
The Gaza health ministry said that some of the bodies returned on Saturday bore signs of “abuse, beatings, handcuffing and blindfolding”.
The ministry made similar claims regarding other bodies previously returned under the ceasefire agreement.
However, the Israeli military has said these claims were “Hamas’s false propaganda”.
