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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel turned over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, just days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said.

It marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas carried out as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in October.

The Red Cross said that it helped facilitate the return of the bodies. They were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, health ministry spokeperson Zaher al-Wahidi said.

The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, had been a key part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war.

Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered, according to the ceasefire terms. It’s unclear if the bodies released Thursday were of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.

Israel has released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal, many of whom were seized by Israeli troops during the more than two-year war and held without being charged. It also has released the bodies of 360 Palestinians back to Gaza, where officials have struggled to identify them.

Tracking the Gaza ceasefire

Keeping track of the status of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for a ceasefire that would end Hamas’ rule in Gaza and rebuilding the territory after a devastating war.

 

The Gaza health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, has posted photos of the deceased for families to identify. Of the bodies handed back by Israel, about 100 have been identified by families, al-Wahidi said.

On Monday, Israel announced that it found and identified the remains of the last Israeli hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, following an extensive search at a cemetery in northern Gaza.

The attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which launched the war, killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani,” was killed while fighting Hamas militants.

The return of his body closed a painful chapter for the country and cleared the way for the next and more challenging phase of the ceasefire, which calls for deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza.

Deaths continue in Gaza

While U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase of the ceasefire deal earlier this month, Israeli fire and strikes continue to kill Palestinians across Gaza almost daily.

Israeli fire killed two Palestinians on Thursday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies were taken. Health officials said that the two men were killed in areas that aren’t Israeli-controlled.

Another Israeli strike in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded others, according to Al-Aqsa martyrs hospital, where the casualties were taken.

Israel’s military said it carried out a “precise strike” on Thursday that targeted a suspect planning to attack troops in the southern Gaza Strip and killed a person who crossed the ceasefire line and approached troops.

The Gaza Health Ministry said that 492 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Rafah border crossing

For Palestinians separated from their families by the war and the tens of thousands of people outside Gaza seeking to return home, the reopening of the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt can’t come soon enough.

The crossing is expected to reopen soon, Israeli officials have said, but how many people will be allowed to enter and leave Gaza remains unclear.

Preparations are underway to allow the departure of a limited number of medical evacuees who were wounded in the war and need to travel abroad for medical care.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that crossing won’t be open to goods for now. The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, has been largely closed since May 2024.

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Toqa Ezzidin reported from Cairo. Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.

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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war