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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it received 120 unidentified bodies of Palestinians from Israel believed to have been killed during the two-year war in an unexpected move Wednesday, as health officials begin work to identify their remains.
Mu’in Al-Wahidi, head of the special committee for receiving bodies at Al-Shifa Hospital, confirmed that they had accepted the transfer of the unidentified bodies, late Wednesday evening, but have not confirmed the number of dead.
“We received complete bodies of individuals … and human remains transported in closed boxes that we will complete forensic examination tomorrow God willing,” Al-Wahidi told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife.
He said health officials have no details on how or where the people died or any identifying information and noted that the remains sent to Gaza were not part of the truce deal or an exchange for the bodies of Israeli hostages.
Red Cross officials say the refrigerated trucks were carrying 54 bodies and what they say appeared to be the remains of 66 others.
Last week, Israeli authorities released the bodies of 15 unidentified Palestinians. At the time, Palestinian health officials said it would be the final exchange between Israel and Hamas as part of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan.
That move came days after Israeli forces recovered the remains of the last hostage — Ran Gvili — held in Gaza for more than 840 days after he was taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The 120 bodies transferred from Israel to Gaza on Wednesday brings the total number of dead released by Israel since the ceasefire deal began on Oct. 10, 2024, to 480.
Handing over all remaining living and dead hostages was a core commitment written into the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
This allowed for the release of 20 living hostages by Hamas and 1,808 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
Identification work begins
Amani Al-Naouq, spokesperson for the Red Cross in Gaza, confirmed that the ICRC facilitated the transfer Wednesday.
“The forensic authorities will begin now the challenging work of trying to identify these remains despite severe resource constraints,” Al-Naouq told CBC News.
“Thousands of people remain missing in Gaza and thousands of families seek clarity about their loved ones.”
Israel has recovered the remains of Ran Gvili, a police officer who was killed during the October 7 Hamas attack. Gvili’s remains were the last held in Gaza, having been held there for more than 840 days. The recovery is seen as a significant step ahead of the next phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
The handover of the bodies came on another deadly day in Gaza after Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children and a paramedic, health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire in the enclave.
The Israeli military said it had launched the strikes in response to militants opening fire against Israeli troops operating near its armistice line with Hamas.
It said an Israeli soldier was severely injured by the militant fire, which it called a violation of the ceasefire agreement.