Hospital officials in Gaza say Israel has handed over bodies of 30 Palestinians

Hospital officials in Gaza say Israel has handed over the bodies of 30 Palestinians, a day after Palestinian militants in Gaza turned over the remains of two hostages to Israel.

Officials at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis confirmed receiving the bodies but did not immediately say what state they were in or identify them.

The exchange of Palestinian remains for hostage remains is the latest indication that the fraught Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement is moving forward, despite deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza this week.

Before Friday’s release, Israel had returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians to authorities in Gaza without providing details on their identities.

Palestinian children look into a Red Cross vehicle carrying the bodies of two people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas as it makes its way towards the Kissufim border crossing with Israel in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip PA Media

It is unclear if the bodies returned by Israel were killed in Israel during the October 7 attack, died in Israeli custody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war.

Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on Thursday that the remains returned by Palestinian militants had been confirmed as those of Sahar Baruch and Amiram Cooper, both taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Hamas that set off the war.

Hamas has now returned the remains of 17 hostages since the start of the ceasefire, with 11 others still in Gaza and set to be turned over under the terms of the agreement.

Mr Baruch was readying to pursue an electrical engineering degree when he was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri.

His brother, Idan, was killed in the attack.

Three months into Sahar’s captivity, the Israeli military said he was killed during an attempted rescue mission. He was 25.

Mr Cooper was an economist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz.

He was captured along with his wife, Nurit, who was released after 17 days.

In June 2024 Israeli officials confirmed that he had been killed in Gaza. He was 84.

A senior US official said that in messages passed to Hamas by Egypt and Qatar on Wednesday the group was told its remaining fighters in the yellow zone had 24 hours to leave or face Israeli strikes.

That deadline expired on Thursday, after which the official said “Israel will enforce the ceasefire and engage Hamas targets behind the yellow line”.

The ceasefire, which began on October 10, is aimed at winding down a war that is by far the deadliest and most destructive of those ever fought between Israel and Hamas.

Buildings destroyed during Israeli ground and air operations in the Gaza Strip earlier this week, as seen from southern Israel PA Media

The war was triggered by the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, who killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

In the two years since, Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 68,600 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and is staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

Israel, which some international critics have accused of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the figures without providing a contradicting toll.