Israel releases bodies of 15 Palestinians in final exchange of peace deal, first phase
Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations may occur. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
The bodies of 15 unidentified Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza were donated by Israel on Thursday during prisoner-by-prisoner talks between Israel and Hamas as part of the first step in a US-led ceasefire.
The release of the bodies came three days after Israeli forces recovered the remains of the last hostages – Ran Gvili – held in Gaza for over 840 days after he was taken over by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel.
Palestinian families have been anxiously waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones as teams of experts try to identify the last batch of unidentified bodies in Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) organized the handover on Thursday, moving the bodies to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
ICRC spokesman Pat Griffiths said Thursday’s handover marked the end of months of work to free the living and dead between the two sides.
In total, 360 bodies of dead Palestinians were released to Gaza authorities – all of whom were unidentified at the time of release, many with signs of torture and torture, according to intelligence experts in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that Israel released 30 bodies of Palestinians killed during the war, bringing the total number of bodies they received since Monday to 120. Intelligence experts in Gaza are busy identifying the bodies, some of which they say show signs of physical abuse.
So far, oh99 Palestinian bodies donated since October have been identified, the Gaza Health Ministry said, and health officials were forced to bury unidentified bodies in overcrowded cemeteries.
“The work that the intelligence authorities are doing here is very important,” Griffiths told CBC News reporter Mohamed El Saife outside Al-Shifa Hospital on Thursday.
“Families [have been] waiting for answers for months, if not years, [and] I’ll finally have a chance to find them.”
Mu’in Al-Wahidi, head of the special committee for receiving dead bodies at Al-Shifa Hospital, said intelligence officials work to identify bodies.
The latest release ended the operation that began in October after the signing of a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 10, 2025, allowing the release of 20 live hostages by Hamas and 1,808 Palestinian prisoners by Israel. In the following sections, thThe ICRC facilitated the return of the dead, including 27 of the 28 Israeli and 360 Palestinian hostages, it said.
“We are relieved to help reunite families with their loved ones. For families whose deceased relatives have been brought back, we hope this has brought an opportunity for full mourning,” said Julien Lerisson, ICRC regional head.
Israel has recovered the remains of Ran Gvili, a police officer who was killed during a Hamas attack on October 7. Gvili’s remains were the last in Gaza, having been kept there for more than 840 days. The recovery is seen as an important step before the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Handing over all remaining hostages, living and dead, was a key commitment written into the first phase of the cease-fire agreement. The next stages are yet to be fulfilled, seriously break up over the next, including the disarmament of Hamas.
“It is important that an agreement is reached after this stage, it is important that humanitarian aid is allowed to enter Gaza without obstacles and that international law is respected,” Amani Al-Naouq, spokesperson for the Red Cross in Gaza, told CBC News.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes, tank bombings and shelling have killed at least 490 people since the accord came into force in October, after two years of war that devastated the Palestinian territory.
Recent deaths add to mMore than 71,400 Palestinians were killed during Israel’s attack on Gaza, according to figures provided by Palestinian officials. The war was triggered by an attack led by Hamas in 2023 in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and captured 251 people, according to Israeli statistics.
On Monday, health officials said two men were killed by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis, in an area close to where the soldiers are working, adding to the latest violence that has sparked the ceasefire.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was not aware of any casualties from Israeli fire on Thursday.
Later in the day Thursday, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least one Palestinian and wounded others in the Maghazi camp in central Gaza. It was unclear what prompted the attack, and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel said four soldiers were killed by Palestinian gunmen in a small coastal area during a ceasefire.
Both sides traded blame for breaching the agreement. Moving into Phase 2, the US and allies Egypt and Qatar must face the thorny issue of disarming Hamas, which the group has long resisted. The plan also calls for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
