News- Middle East: Gaza’s Health Ministry says it has received the remains of 45 Palestinians from Israeli authorities through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), raising the total number of bodies handed over to 270 under a shaky ceasefire agreement that went in effect in early October.

The ministry said in a statement issued on Monday that forensic teams have so far identified 78 bodies and are continuing examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols,” before the remains are documented and handed over to families.

Gaza health authorities said most remains of Palestinians have not been identified, due to the time that has passed.

They noted it has been two years since these bodies were taken by Israeli forces, and many show signs of torture.

If these remains are not identified, they will be buried alongside other Palestinians in a mass grave in Deir el-Balah.

Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, the Hamas resistance movement has released 20 living Israeli captives and handed over 20 bodies.

Israel, in return, has released 250 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences and 1,718 prisoners arrested in Gaza following the onset of the genocidal war on October 7, 2023.

Palestinian families have been identifying the remains of their loved ones, sent back from the Israeli-occupied territories without identification, through physical features or recognizable clothing.

Forensic facilities in Gaza are no longer operational due to the prolonged Israeli blockade and the destruction of vital laboratories.

According to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies, Israel held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers” before the ceasefire.

The daily newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli army is currently holding approximately 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the infamous Sde Teiman military base in the southern sector of the occupied lands.

More than 68,800 people, the majority being women and children, have lost their lives, and over 170,600 others have been injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023.

Source: Press TV