Israel on Saturday transferred the remains of 15 Palestinians to the Gaza Strip through the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to Xinhua news agency. The move came a day after Palestinian militants returned the body of an Israeli hostage under the ongoing ceasefire arrangement.
The outlet reported that the Israel Defense Forces found out that the hostage was Lior Rudaeff, a 61-year-old reserve soldier who was killed in the strikes in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group had kept his body, the outlet reported.
With Saturday’s transfer, a total of 300 Palestinian bodies have been returned to Gaza since the truce began. Israel has recovered 23 hostage bodies to date.
According to Xinhua, the remains of four Israelis and one Thai national are still believed to be in Gaza, out of 28 hostage bodies Hamas is obligated to return under the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10.
Beyond the deceased, the exchange has also included living detainees. Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives, while Israel has freed 250 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences and 1,718 detainees from Gaza as part of the deal, Xinhua said.
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