Health officials in Gaza say many of the 90 returned bodies bore marks of violence and possible executions.
Published On 15 Oct 2025
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says it has received the remains of 45 Palestinians who were held in Israeli custody via the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies returned to 90 as part of a United States-brokered ceasefire deal.
Medical teams are continuing to examine, document and prepare the bodies for delivery to families “in line with approved medical procedures and protocols”, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Under a ceasefire deal backed by US President Donald Trump and aimed at ending the two-year Gaza war, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. The remains of 45 people were returned on Monday.
Palestinians awaited information about the bodies that arrived at Nasser Hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday. The forensics team described disturbing conditions, bearing signs of physical abuse.
Some of the Palestinian bodies were blindfolded and handcuffed, indicating “field executions” may have taken place, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
Israel is expected to hand over more bodies, though officials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned. It remains unclear whether the bodies were dug up from cemeteries by the Israeli army during its ground offensive or if they belong to detainees who were killed during the Israeli assault. Throughout the war, Israel’s military has exhumed bodies as part of its search for the remains of captives.
As forensic teams examined the first remains returned, the Health Ministry on Wednesday