Israel hands over 15 Palestinian bodies as ceasefire exchanges continue

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday.

Officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis confirmed the handover. This is part of the ongoing exchanges under the fragile US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

The return followed Hamas’ move late Thursday to transfer the body of one of the last four remaining Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Israel identified the body as that of Meny Godard. He was abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri in southern Israel. His wife, Ayelet, was killed in the attack. The armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the body was recovered in southern Gaza.

Since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the bodies of 25 hostages have been returned to Israel. Three more remain in Gaza. Hamas had earlier returned 20 living hostages on Oct. 13. Under the first phase of the deal, Israel releases the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each hostage returned. Gaza’s Health Ministry said 330 Palestinian bodies have been received so far. Only 95 have been formally identified due to a shortage of DNA testing kits.

On Friday, 27 unidentified Palestinian bodies were buried in Deir al-Balah. The ministry said 182 unidentified bodies have already been interred.

The exchanges continue even as both sides accuse each other of breaking other parts of the agreement. Israel has accused Hamas of handing over partial bodies and staging some body discoveries. Hamas has accused Israel of firing at civilians and limiting humanitarian aid.

The UN also voiced concern over rising violence in the West Bank. UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned recent attacks by Israeli settlers. The UN spokesperson, Thameen Al-Kheetan, said Turk called on Israel to end its “unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory,” stop new settlement activity, and evacuate settlers. He said more than 260 settler attacks were recorded in October, the highest since 2006.

Israeli settlers on Thursday torched and vandalised a mosque in a West Bank village. Two days earlier, masked settlers burned vehicles and property in Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the attacks “shocking and serious.” The army’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said the military “will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals who tarnish a law-abiding public.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that violence in the West Bank “could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza.”

Israeli leaders say settler violence is carried out by a small extremist group. But Palestinians and rights groups say it is widespread and happens with impunity under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has not commented on the recent surge.

The next phases of the 20-point ceasefire plan involve forming an international stabilisation force, creating a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.