DaysofPal – Israeli occupation forces have handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians as part of the ongoing exchange deal with Palestinian factions.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the bodies were transferred from the Kissufim crossing to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. This marks the 11th batch of bodies returned under the current exchange of deceased persons between Israel and Palestinian groups.
Medical sources at Nasser Hospital said they have so far received the remains of around 300 Palestinians whose bodies had been held by Israeli forces. The Gaza Committee for the Management of Martyrs’ Remains reported that 144 of those bodies were buried in a mass grave in Deir al-Balah, as they could not be identified due to the condition of the remains.
On the Israeli side, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the body received from Gaza on Thursday had been identified following forensic examination. It said the remains belonged to Israeli captive Lior Rodaev and that his family had been notified.
An Israeli military spokesperson later confirmed that Rodaev was a reserve soldier killed on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Be’er Yitzhak.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and the Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad handed over the body of the Israeli captive to the ICRC after it was found in Khan Younis.
Last Wednesday, Al-Qassam had also delivered another Israeli soldier’s body found in Gaza City’s Shuja’iya neighborhood as part of the ongoing understandings brokered by mediators.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, Hamas has released 20 living captives and handed over 21 bodies out of an estimated 28. According to Israeli estimates, six bodies remain inside Gaza.
Israel has conditioned the start of the second phase of negotiations on the recovery of the remaining bodies. At the same time, Hamas insists that the process requires significant time and effort, given the massive destruction across Gaza, which hampers access to burial sites. The group has urged mediators to provide specialized teams and equipment to recover bodies trapped beneath the rubble.
Friday’s handover marks the 22nd body returned to Israel since the ceasefire began, as mediation efforts continue to uphold the truce and push negotiations forward toward the full implementation of the agreement.
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