Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians on Friday and handed them over to health authorities in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. The remains were returned in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli hostages who were returned by the Palestinian group „Hamas“ earlier.
The progress, although small, came despite Israeli strikes in Gaza that have killed more than 100 people in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.
The bodies of the 30 Palestinians were transferred to Gaza through the mediation of the Red Cross. The return of the remains was confirmed by a doctor at the „Nasr“ hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis The strip.
However, their identification has been difficult because local health authorities do not have DNA analysis kits.
In total, the remains of 225 Palestinians have been returned from Israel so far, of whom 75 have been identified by their families, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Late on Friday, the Red Cross said it had transferred the unidentified remains of three people to Israel. However, the bodies are still being examined and may not belong to Israeli hostages, an Israeli military official said.
Since the start of the ceasefire, “Hamas“ has handed over the bodies of 17 Israeli hostages, while 11 are still in Gaza and must be returned under the agreement.