Health officials in Gaza said Friday that Israel has returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians, a day after Palestinian militants transferred the remains of two Israeli hostages to the Red Cross.
According to the Israeli military, the handover of the two hostages’ remains marks another step forward in maintaining the fragile ceasefire, even amid renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza this week.
The remains were first given to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, then transported into Israel for identification at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Late Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the remains belonged to Sahar Baruch and Amiram Cooper, both of whom were abducted during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the ongoing war.
Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has returned the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 more expected to be handed over under the terms of the deal. In exchange, Israel has so far returned 195 Palestinian bodies to Gaza authorities, though their identities remain unconfirmed. Officials say it is unclear whether they were killed during the Oct. 7 assault, died in Israeli custody, or were recovered during Israel’s ground operations in Gaza.
Gazan health authorities say efforts to identify the remains have been hampered by a lack of DNA testing kits.
Remembering the Hostages
Baruch, 25, had been preparing to study electrical engineering when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri. His brother, Idan, was killed in the same attack. The Israeli military later said Baruch was killed during a failed rescue attempt three months into his captivity.
Cooper, 84, was an economist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was taken hostage along with his wife, Nurit, who was released after 17 days. Israeli officials confirmed in June 2024 that Cooper had been killed in Gaza.
Overnight Strikes Leave Dozens Injured
Despite the ceasefire formally remaining in place, renewed Israeli strikes overnight injured at least 40 people in Khan Younis, according to Mohammad Saar, head of nursing at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army said its attacks targeted “terrorist infrastructure posing a threat to troops” in the area, which is currently under Israeli military control.
Earlier in the week, Israeli strikes killed more than 100 people following the shooting death of an Israeli soldier in Rafah. Netanyahu accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal by delaying the return of hostage remains, though Hamas denied involvement in the attack and in turn accused Israel of violating the truce.
Speaking at a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel, Netanyahu warned:
“If Hamas continues to blatantly violate the ceasefire, it will face powerful strikes, as it did in recent days.”
He added that Israel would “act as needed” to remove threats to its forces and reiterated his goal of a demilitarized Gaza — whether enforced by foreign powers or by Israel itself.
Ceasefire Under Strain
The international mediators of the ceasefire — Egypt, Qatar, and the United States — have reportedly warned Hamas that Israel will resume military operations in areas still occupied by its fighters after a Thursday deadline expired.
A senior U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said Hamas was told that militants must withdraw from the “yellow zone” within 24 hours or risk renewed Israeli strikes. The ceasefire’s enforcement, the official said, allows Israel to target Hamas positions if they remain beyond the designated lines.
The truce, launched on October 10, aims to wind down a war that has become the deadliest and most destructive in the long history of Israel-Hamas conflict.
The war began after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages in their October 2023 attack.
In the two years since, Israel’s offensive has killed more than 68,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, independent experts consider its data largely credible. Israel has disputed the figures but has not released alternative numbers.
