Gaza struggles to identify bodies returned under ceasefire deal

As the remains of Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardments or those who died in Israeli jails grow, authorities in Gaza are struggling to identify many, forced to resort to burying them in mass graves.

Gaza’s health authorities recently buried 38 unidentified bodies received from Israeli custody in what they have designated the “Cemetery for the Unknown”.

Israel handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza authorities on Monday as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire’s body exchange arrangement.

According to a medical source who spoke to the Wafa news agency, the Red Cross transferred the remains to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

It was the 12th such exchange under the deal, with 315 bodies returned to Gaza so far. However, only 92 have been identified, with the process hampered by decomposition and insufficient forensic equipment.

Wafa reported that most of the recovered remains showed evidence of torture.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza has resulted in more than 69,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Ministry of Health, with thousands more missing and presumed dead beneath rubble.

The ministry confirmed the identification challenges as Israel delivered dozens more unidentified Palestinian remains for burial in a mass grave in Deir el-Balah.