Tel Aviv, Nov 5, (dpa/GNA) – Israel has transferred the remains of 15 Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, following the handover of a deceased hostage by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, the Red Cross and the Hamas-controlled health authority said on Wednesday.
The Red Cross assisted in the transfer, both parties reported.
On Tuesday evening, Hamas handed over the body of an Israeli soldier, who was also a German citizen, to Red Cross staff.
Israel and Hamas agreed to the exchange of bodies, as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
According to the agreement, for each Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel must hand over the bodies of 15 Gaza Strip residents. The exact circumstances of the Palestinians’ deaths are unknown, but it is suspected that Israel stored their bodies in a military camp.
According to the Hamas-run health authority, Israel has so far handed over 285 deceased Palestinians, of whom 84 have been identified.
Currently, seven hostage bodies remain in the Gaza Strip, including two foreigners from Thailand and Tanzania abducted from Israel and the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014.
As part of the agreement, Hamas released all remaining living hostages on October 13 in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s army reported that despite the ongoing ceasefire, it attacked two Palestinians within a military-controlled area in northern Gaza.
In both instances, the individuals approached soldiers “in a manner that posed a threat to them,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated. “Following their identification, IDF troops eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat.”
Both individuals reportedly crossed the so-called “yellow line,” behind which the Israeli military has withdrawn as part of the agreed ceasefire. There were no immediate reports from Gaza regarding the incidents.
Since the ceasefire began on October 10, more than 240 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
The claims from both sides cannot be independently verified.
GNA