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Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza: Hamas-run health ministry

Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

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A member of the Palestinian security forces clears traffic in front of a bus with released prisoners inside flashing the V-sign for victory after being set free by Israeli forces from the Ofer military prison located between Ramallah and Beitunia in the occupied West Bank on October 13, 2025, in exchange for hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attacks. Several buses left Israel's Ofer jail with freed Palestinian prisoners on the way to Ramallah under a ceasefire agreement following Hamas's release of 20 surviving Israeli hostages. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

2025-10-19 12:37:24

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number handed over to 135, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. 

Late on Friday, Hamas handed over the body of another Israeli hostage.

Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has handed over the bodies of nine Israelis and one Nepalese student.

The Gaza health ministry said that some of the bodies returned on Saturday bore signs of "abuse, beatings, handcuffing and blindfolding". 

The ministry made similar claims regarding other bodies previously returned under the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli military has said these claims were "Hamas's false propaganda".

"Furthermore, all the bodies returned so far are from combatants within the Gaza Strip," it told AFP on Friday.

© Agence France-Presse

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