Friday, January 30, 2026-Israel has handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza, marking the final exchange of remains under the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal with Hamas. The transfer took place just days after Israeli officials recovered the remains of the last Israeli hostage, closing a painful chapter in the more than two-year conflict that erupted after Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the handover, and the bodies were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City amid ongoing efforts to identify them.
The exchange was part of strict terms under the ceasefire, under which Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered, whether alive or deceased.
Over the course of the first phase, roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have been released and hundreds of Palestinian bodies returned to Gaza, although only a fraction have been positively identified by families. With the return of the last Israeli remains, negotiators say this sequence of exchanges has fulfilled the initial commitments of the ceasefire agreement.
Even as this phase concludes, violence and tensions persist. Israeli strikes continue to result in casualties across Gaza, and both sides face pressure to move forward with the more challenging second phase of the ceasefire plan, which includes international monitoring, disarmament of Hamas, a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops, and reconstruction efforts.
The handover of bodies underscores the fragile balance between humanitarian obligations and the broader political objectives that will shape the next stage of peace and stability in the region.
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