Gaza receives remains of 15 more Palestinians from Israel under ceasefire deal

ISTANBUL

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday that it had received the remains of 15 Palestinians released by Israel via the International Committee of the Red Cross under a ceasefire agreement.

A ministry statement said that the new transfer brought the number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to 300 since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10.

Forensic teams have so far identified 89 bodies and are continuing examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols” before the remains are documented and released to families, the ministry said.

Palestinian authorities said that many of the bodies handed over by Israel showed signs of abuse, including beatings, bound hands, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement, and were returned without names.

Families have been trying to identify the remains of their relatives by physical markings or clothing, as forensic facilities in Gaza remain out of service due to a years-long Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

Before the ceasefire, Israel held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” according to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the army has been holding about 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the notorious Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, injured over 170,600 others, and left about 9,500 missing – many believed to be trapped under destroyed homes or still unaccounted for in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.