• Health ministry in the territory says 345 Palestinian bodies have been returned under peace deal
• Bodies were handed over in exchange for the remains of Israeli hostage Dror Or

GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday under the US-brokered ceasefire exchange deal.

“The Ministry of Health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs released today by the Israeli occupation via the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 345,” the ministry said in a statement.

A medical source at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis confirmed it had received 15 bodies via the Red Cross.

Under the ceasefire deal, which came into effect on October 10, Israel was required to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that the handover “reflects Hamas’s steadfast commitment to fully complete the exchange process and its ongoing efforts to finalize it despite significant difficulties.”

The last two hostages’ bodies still in Gaza are those of Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.

At the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.

Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 26 dead hostages.

In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.

AFP