(MENAFN) Gaza’s Health Ministry announced on Saturday that it had received the remains of 15 additional Palestinians from Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire agreement.

According to a ministry statement, this latest transfer increases the total number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to 330 since the ceasefire began on October 10.

Forensic teams have so far identified 97 of the bodies and continue to carry out examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols” before documenting the remains and returning them to families, the ministry added.

Palestinian officials reported that many of the bodies delivered by Israel displayed signs of mistreatment, including beatings, bound hands, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement, and were returned without identification.

Families are attempting to recognize the remains of their loved ones through physical characteristics or clothing, as forensic facilities in Gaza remain nonfunctional due to a prolonged Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

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

An Israeli newspaper also reported that the army has been keeping roughly 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the infamous Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

Since October 2023, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has resulted in nearly 69,200 deaths and over 170,700 injuries, mostly among women and children, leaving the enclave largely in ruins.

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