Israel returns 30 bodies of slain Palestinians as new strikes hit Gaza

Thirty more bodies of Palestinians who were detained by Israel have been returned to the besieged Gaza Strip, some showing signs of torture.

This comes as Israeli forces continue air strikes across the Strip, despite a shaky ceasefire, killing at least three people on Friday.

One Palestinian was killed and his brother wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Shujayea neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City, while another was killed by Israeli shelling in the Jabalia refugee camp, Wafa news agency reported. A third Palestinian died of wounds sustained from previous Israeli shelling, it added.

Separately, civil defence workers in central Gaza said they had recovered the body of a Palestinian from the rubble of the Abu Medein family home in the az-Zahra neighbourhood.

Israeli warplanes also struck buildings in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Friday.

The return of slain Palestinian detainees comes as part of the prisoner-captive exchange deal agreed in early October. The latest handover brings the total number of bodies received to 225, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.

It said medical teams are identifying the bodies under standard protocols before documenting them and notifying families.

In the previous handovers, bodies of prisoners had exhibited signs of torture, including being blindfolded and handcuffed, medical sources said. Many had appeared decomposed or burned, while others were missing limbs or teeth.

Israel holds thousands of Palestinians in prison, many in administrative detention without filing official charges against them. Reports that Israel tortures Palestinian detainees in its jails have been common for years, and have increased since the start of its war on Gaza.

Under the United States-brokered accord to halt Israel’s two-year war on Gaza, Hamas released 20 living captives in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners. Israeli forces have also completed a partial withdrawal from urban centres in Gaza.

But since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Israeli attacks have killed dozens of Palestinians across the enclave. From Tuesday into Wednesday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said Israeli attacks killed 104 people, including 46 children and 20 women.

Palestinians still ‘really struggling’

Hamas handed over two bodies of dead Israeli captives on Thursday.

As part of the deal, the Palestinian group committed to returning the remains of all 28 captives in exchange for the bodies of Palestinians killed in the war.

So far, it has handed over 15 sets of remains, saying it continues to press for proper equipment and support to comb through vast mounds of rubble and debris – where thousands of Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardments are still buried.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and members of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, travelled to east Khan Younis on Friday to search for the remains of Israeli captives, sources in the armed group told media.

As Hamas appears to be committed to the ceasefire agreement, Israel has still refused to open vital border crossings and allow much-needed humanitarian aid trucks into the enclave, where famine in the north was declared earlier this year.

media’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from az-Zawayda in central Gaza, said that, while Israel has allowed a new wave of aid trucks to access Gaza on Friday, “humanitarian aid trucks remain partially restricted”.

Palestinians are “really struggling to get aid from the UN warehouses”, he said.

“The situation is still very [difficult] and for many Palestinians, the ceasefire is not only about bringing food in but also about ensuring that shelter materials can [reach] people in need.”

Concerns about ceasefire

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that various foreign ministers will meet and discuss the Gaza ceasefire and its next steps on Monday.

During a news conference in Ankara, Fidan said the meeting would include officials who had met US President Donald Trump in New York in September, and added that the discussions were continuing on forming a Gaza task force and a stabilisation force.

He added that Turkiye was concerned about whether the ceasefire would continue.

Yossi Beilin, Israel’s former justice and foreign minister, said he “would be surprised” if Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course on the ceasefire, despite signs that it has come under increasing strain.

“This is something that he committed himself to, mainly to President Trump, and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t go on with the agreement,” Beilin told media.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army’s top lawyer, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, has been dismissed over a video which was leaked last year showing a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman detention facility allegedly being sexually assaulted by Israeli troops.

The facility has been widely criticised for rights abuses. Rights groups say Palestinians have faced severe mistreatment in Israeli detention during the war. The Israeli military says it is investigating dozens of cases but denies systematic abuse, though such probes have often ended without accountability.