The government of Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Wednesday, marking another step in the fragile cease-fire exchange process between Israel and Hamas. The bodies were delivered to officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after a deal that pairs these returns with the handing over of Israeli hostages’ remains. The exchange is part of a broader, U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at advancing the first phase of a multi-point plan to end and stabilise the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Progress and complications in the body-exchange process
Hospital officials in Gaza reported the arrival of the 15 bodies, bringing the total number of Palestinian remains returned by Israel so far to 285. Identification remains a major challenge because Gaza’s health infrastructure lacks sufficient DNA testing kits and many bodies are severely decomposed. Israel has not disclosed how many bodies it is still holding or from where they were recovered, but repeatedly notes it returns 15 Palestinian bodies each time a body of an Israeli hostage is released.
The exchange arrangement operates under the terms that Hamas deliver the remains of Israeli hostages, living or deceased, and Israel in turn gradually hands over Palestinian bodies. In recent days, Hamas handed over the body of an Israeli soldier who was killed during the 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war. Yet both sides have lodged complaints: Israel claims some handed-over remains were partial or mis-identified, while Hamas points to destroyed terrain, rubble and access problems as major obstacles.
Cease-fire deal hangs on unresolved issues
While the body exchanges continue, several key parts of the cease-fire deal remain unresolved. The agreement sets three phases: the return of living hostages, the delivery of deceased hostages’ remains, and then further Israeli withdrawals, humanitarian aid flow, and reconstruction efforts. So far, only limited progress has been made beyond the first phase, leaving future steps in limbo.
Read More: Hamas Hands Over 3 Hostage Remains Amid Cease-fire Tensions
Cease-fire monitoring indicates that hostilities have not fully ceased: Israeli strikes and militant rocket fire have persisted, complicating trust between parties. Additionally, the vast destruction within Gaza hamstrings recovery efforts, with many bodies still believed to be trapped under rubble. International actors, including the United Nations, continue to emphasise that the transition to stabilisation must involve a credible force with a Security Council mandate and that exchange of remains and hostages must be completed for the deal to hold.
As the war’s human toll mounts with Gaza’s Health Ministry recording tens of thousands of deaths and Israel disputing those figures the current returns of bodies offer a glimmer of humanitarian progress. Still, observers warn that unless the underlying political and military issues are addressed, the cease-fire could falter and the exchanges may stall.