Source: Aljazeera
DST News: Israel has returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians who died while in Israeli custody, many of which reportedly bore signs of torture. The transfer, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, occurred on Friday amid renewed Israeli strikes across Gaza that killed at least three people, despite a fragile ceasefire.
Medical staff at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis received the remains, which were part of an ongoing prisoner-exchange arrangement agreed upon in early October. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 225 bodies have now been repatriated. Medical teams are working to identify the deceased and notify their families.
Doctors said many of the returned bodies showed evidence of abuse — including blindfolds, handcuffs, and severe injuries such as missing limbs and burn marks. Reports of torture in Israeli detention centers have long circulated and have intensified since Israel’s renewed offensive on Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, many held without formal charges under administrative detention.
Meanwhile, violence continues across the enclave. One Palestinian was shot dead and another wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighborhood, while shelling killed another in the Jabalia refugee camp, according to Wafa news agency. Civil defense workers also recovered a body from the rubble of a destroyed home in central Gaza.
The prisoner-captive exchange deal, brokered by the United States, has seen Hamas free 20 Israeli captives in return for Israel’s release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees. However, despite the truce announced on October 10, Israeli attacks have continued, with Gaza’s Health Ministry reporting over 100 deaths in a 24-hour period earlier this week.
The Red Cross also confirmed that three unidentified bodies were handed to Israel on Friday for forensic identification, following Hamas’s earlier return of two Israeli captives’ remains. In total, Hamas has so far returned 17 Israeli bodies.
On the ground, the humanitarian crisis remains dire. Israel has yet to fully reopen Gaza’s border crossings, severely restricting the entry of food, fuel, and medical supplies. “Palestinians are still struggling to access aid from UN warehouses,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported, noting that the ceasefire has not yet brought significant relief.
For many in Gaza, the fragile truce means little as air strikes persist, aid remains limited, and families continue to recover their dead from the rubble.
