Palestinian medical authorities have verified that Israel has delivered an additional 15 Palestinian bodies as part of the recent corpse exchange under the ceasefire agreement. This transfer marks the near completion of the initial phase of the agreement, with only two bodies of hostages taken at the start of the conflict still remaining in Gaza.
Following the return of Israeli hostage Dror Or’s remains by Palestinian militants, Israel has now repatriated a total of 345 Palestinian bodies to Gaza since the exchange initiative began last month, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Currently, two hostages – one Israeli and one Thai national – are still held in Gaza, with Hamas reaffirming its commitment to fulfilling its end of the agreement by returning both hostages.
A meeting held in Cairo involving Turkish, Qatari, and Egyptian officials discussed the upcoming stages of the ceasefire, which commenced in October and has been upheld despite mutual accusations of breaches by both sides. The forthcoming phases of the agreement entail the deployment of an international stabilization force and the establishment of an international entity to govern Gaza and supervise its reconstruction.
An international stabilization force will be responsible for maintaining security and ensuring the disarmament of Hamas, a crucial demand from Israel. Indonesian authorities have announced plans to dispatch 20,000 peacekeepers to support this force. However, uncertainties persist regarding various aspects of the plan and the timeline for its execution.
In the interim, a large portion of Palestinians remain displaced and reliant on humanitarian aid, while Hamas retains substantial control over a significant part of Gaza, and the reconstruction efforts in the region have scarcely commenced. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that only 99 out of the 345 bodies returned by Israel have been identified, attributing the identification challenges to the lack of DNA testing resources in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel mourned the loss of Dror Or, the latest hostage returned by Palestinian militants. Or, a devoted father and skilled cheesemaker, was remembered by the Hostages Families Forum. The tragic incident occurred when Palestinian militants attacked the community of Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, resulting in the death of Or and his wife. The couple’s quick thinking in evacuating their children from their burning home ultimately saved their lives, as the children were abducted but later released in a hostage exchange in November 2023.
With the repatriation of Or’s remains, nearly all hostages or their remains have been retrieved from Gaza. Hazem Qassem, the Hamas spokesperson, reiterated the group’s commitment to releasing the remaining two hostages to conclude the exchange. Qassem called on mediators to pressure Israel to cease violations of the ceasefire, following an incident where a Palestinian civilian was fatally shot by Israeli troops in central Gaza, with two others wounded in a separate attack.
In a separate development, the Israeli military reported targeting and killing one militant in Rafah, as part of ongoing operations to address threats from underground terror networks. Since the commencement of the ceasefire on October 11, the Gaza Health Ministry disclosed that 345 Palestinians have been killed and 889 wounded in the region, with an estimated 70,000 casualties resulting from Israel’s military operations in Gaza.