Israel hands over remains of 45 Palestinians to Gaza as part of prisoner exchange deal: sources

GAZA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Tuesday handed over the remains of 45 Palestinians to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which later transferred them to local authorities in the Gaza Strip as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal, medical sources said.

A Gaza-based health official told Xinhua that medical teams at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis received the remains through the Kerem Shalom crossing. "Work is underway to identify the bodies through DNA testing before handing them over to their families," the official said.

In a brief statement, the ICRC confirmed that it supervised the handover process based on an agreement between the parties and in coordination with the relevant authorities, stressing that the operation was conducted in accordance with humanitarian standards applicable in such cases.

The handover came a day after Hamas released 20 Israeli captives alive and four of the 28 bodies held in Gaza under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal mediated by the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye following two years of war.

In return, Israel released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from its jails, including 1,718 arrested after the start of the war in Gaza on Oct 7, 2023, according to data from Hamas' Prisoner Media Office and Palestinian organizations.

The ceasefire, which took effect on Friday, followed days of intensive negotiations in Egypt as part of broader understandings that include a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, a prisoner exchange, and the reopening of border crossings to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel decided on Tuesday to halt the reopening of the Rafah crossing and further reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza, as both sides traded accusations of violating the fragile ceasefire.

An Israeli government official, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said the Rafah crossing will remain closed and the entry of humanitarian aid will be "drastically" limited until Hamas returns all the bodies of the deceased hostages.