Israel returns 30 Palestinian bodies to Gaza: health ministry in Hamas-run territory

Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Wednesday, bringing the total number handed over under the ceasefire deal to 195, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

Under the deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

Israel's military said Wednesday that the remains of two more hostages returned the day before from Gaza had been identified as those of Aryeh Zalmanovich and Master Sergeant Tamir Adar.


Since October 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned, out of the 28 pledged to be handed over by Hamas under the ceasefire deal.

Gaza's health ministry said that 57 of the returned Palestinian bodies had so far been identified by their relatives, while 54 unidentified bodies had been buried on Wedesday.

Gaza's civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas authority, said the funeral procession began at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis and proceeded to a cemetery in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza.

AFP footage from Nasser Hospital showed dozens of bodies laid out on the floor in white body bags as rescue workers stood in a line to pray over the dead.

Umm Hassan Hammad said she had been unable to identify the body of her son who has been missing since October 7, 2023.

"Every day I come here, maybe I recognise him from his clothes or the trousers he went out in since October 7," she said.