ISRAEL returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Thursday, days after recovering the remains of the final Israeli hostage, according to Gaza Health Ministry officials.
The exchange concludes the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that was reached in October, a deal designed to pause hostilities and facilitate the return of hostages and prisoners.
AP reported on Friday that the International Committee of the Red Cross assisted in the transfer, with the bodies delivered to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Health Ministry spokesperson Zaher al-Wahidi said.
Photos of the deceased have been made available to families for identification purposes, and about 100 bodies returned by Israel have already been recognised.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel agreed to release 15 Palestinian bodies for every hostage returned. It remains unclear whether those released on Thursday had died while in Israeli custody or were killed during military operations in Gaza.
Since the agreement, Israel has freed roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many held without charge, and returned the remains of 360 Palestinians, though Gaza authorities have struggled to identify all of them.
The last Israeli hostage, 24-year-old police officer Ran Gvili, affectionately known as “Rani,” was identified earlier this week following an extensive search in northern Gaza.
His death, during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, has closed a deeply painful chapter for Israel and cleared the path for the ceasefire’s more complex second phase.
This next stage calls for an international security presence, the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Despite the ceasefire, violence continues across Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli fire killed two Palestinians in Khan Younis in the south, with another casualty reported in central Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces described one of the strikes as a “precise strike” targeting a suspect planning an attack near the ceasefire line.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 492 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire’s implementation, though the figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
For those displaced and separated from their families, the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt remains critical. Israeli authorities have indicated the crossing will soon allow limited departures, prioritising medical evacuations for war-wounded Palestinians, though goods will not be permitted for the time being.
The crossing has been largely closed since May 2024, restricting access to Gaza’s principal gateway to the outside world.
The return of the bodies highlights the ceasefire’s fragile achievements while exposing the challenges that lie ahead in stabilising Gaza and ensuring humanitarian access, as hostilities, civilian casualties, and political uncertainties persist. - January 30, 2026
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