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15 Palestinian bodies returned to Gaza amid Israel's ceasefire violations

Wednesday, 26 November 2025 5:13 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 26 November 2025 5:13 PM ]

Bodies of unidentified Palestinians returned from the occupied territories to Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, November 26, 2025. (Photo by AP)

The Gaza Health Ministry has reported that the bodies of 15 Palestinian abductees have been returned under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

“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 (ICRC), bringing the total number of bodies received to 345,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

A medical source at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed that the 15 bodies arrived through the ICRC.

Under the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10, Israel is obliged to return the bodies of 15 Palestinian abductees for every deceased Israeli captive handed over.

These 15 bodies were exchanged for the remains of one of the last three deceased captives, whose body was transferred to the Israeli regime on Tuesday by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas through the ICRC.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Wednesday that the handover "reflects Hamas's steadfast commitment to fully complete the exchange process and its ongoing efforts to finalize it despite significant difficulties."

At the start of the ceasefire, Hamas held 20 living captives and 28 bodies of deceased captives. Since then, all living captives have been released, and the remains of 26 deceased have been returned.

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Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu falsely accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by failing to release the two remaining bodies.

Hamas dismissed Netanyahu's allegations, emphasizing that the Israeli regime’s relentless attacks on Gaza, which also violate the ceasefire, have severely hindered the retrieval process.

The ICRC confirmed Hamas’s account, stating that the scale of destruction caused by Israel’s genocidal assault makes it nearly impossible to return all deceased captives simultaneously, a process that could take weeks or months.

Despite this, Israel has continued to exploit the issue of remaining bodies as a pretext to justify daily attacks and to obstruct the delivery of aid and food to the besieged strip, which is mandated under the ceasefire.

According to the Gaza Government’s Media Office, Israel has violated the truce at least 500 times since it came into effect, killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians in the process.

Israel has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 170,000 others in Gaza since October 2023.

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