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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday that it had received the remains of 120 unidentified Palestinians believed to have been killed in the two-year war from Israel, as health officials began to identify their remains.
Muin Al-Wahidi, who is the head of the special committee to receive corpses at Al-Shifa Hospital On Wednesday evening, they confirmed that they had received the transfer of unidentified bodies, but did not confirm the death toll.
“We have received complete human remains … and we will put the human remains in a closed casket and complete the forensic examination tomorrow,” Al-Wahidi told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El-Sefe.
Health officials said they did not have information on how or where the men died, or any identification, and that the remains sent to Gaza were not part of a peace deal or an exchange of bodies for Israeli hostages.
Red Cross officials say they were carrying the cars that were kept in the refrigerator 54 corpses and what they say sounds like the corpses of 66 others.
Israeli authorities last week They released the bodies 15 unidentified Palestinians. At the time, Palestinian health officials said it would be the last exchange between Israel and Hamas as part of the first phase of a US-led ceasefire plan.
The move comes days after Israeli forces took the last hostage – Ran Gwili – by Hamas after more than 840 days of attacks on Israel in Gaza.
Wednesday’s transfer of 120 bodies from Israel to Gaza brings to 480 the total number of dead bodies released by Israel since the ceasefire agreement began on October 10, 2024.
The surrender of all hostages, living and dead, was a key commitment written into the first chapter of the ceasefire agreement.
This led to the release of 20 hostages by Hamas and 1,808 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
Identification has begun.
Amani al-Nauk, spokesman for the Red Cross in Gaza, confirmed that the ICRC had facilitated the transfer on Wednesday.
“Despite severe resource constraints, forensic authorities now begin the challenging task of trying to identify these remains. Al-Nauk told CBC News.
“Thousands of people have disappeared in Gaza and thousands of families are seeking clarity about their loved ones.”
Israel has recovered the remains of Ran Givli, who was killed in a Hamas attack on October 7. Givli’s body was held in Gaza for the last time, having been held there for more than 840 days. The recovery is seen as a major step ahead of the next US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
The delivery of the body began Another deadly day Later in Gaza Israeli tank fire and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians, including seven children, health officials said, the latest violence to undermine a four-month-old ceasefire in the area.
The Israeli army said the attack began when militants opened fire on Israeli soldiers operating near the border with Hamas.
An Israeli soldier who said he was seriously wounded in the gunfire by the militants violated the ceasefire agreement.