Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza in final first-phase exchange

Israel handed over 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza authorities on Jan. 29, 2026, in a transfer facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross that Gaza officials said brought the first phase of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to a close. Red Cross vehicles delivered the remains to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where officials and relatives moved to identify them, Gaza health officials said.

The ICRC issued a statement, quoted by TRT, saying, "The International Committee of the Red Cross today facilitated the return of 15 deceased Palestinians to Gaza. This marks the completion of a months-long operation that reunited families and supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreement." Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital, confirmed the arrival of the 15 bodies, and Gaza Health Ministry spokesmen said the remains were taken to Shifa for family identification.

Officials and international outlets offered differing tallies of bodies returned under the ceasefire, underscoring the difficulty of reconciling counts in the midst of complex operations. PBS cited the Gaza Health Ministry as saying 345 Palestinian bodies had been returned since the deal began. By contrast, AP, TRT and outlets republishing AP reporting put the total at 360. Analysts and reporting guidance say the gap likely reflects different cutoffs and data sources, and both figures should be treated as provisional until consolidated by the ICRC and Gaza Health Ministry.

Identification efforts have lagged. PBS reported that only 99 bodies have been formally identified, a number Gaza officials attribute to a shortage of DNA testing kits and limited forensic capacity inside the territory. AP and other outlets quoted Gaza spokesmen as saying about 100 of the returned bodies have been identified, a small variance that officials said reflects rapidly changing processing and recordkeeping.

The bodies transfer is part of a phased ceasefire exchange in which, according to PBS, Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage recovered. The first phase included large movements of detainees and hostages, with AP reporting roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released under the deal. International actors have framed the handovers as a precursor to a broader political transition for Gaza, with future phases envisioned to include deployment of an International Stabilization Force and creation of an international body to oversee reconstruction. PBS reported mediators from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt met in Cairo to discuss the next phase and that Indonesia has said it plans to contribute as many as 20,000 peacekeepers to the ISF.

Conflicting accounts also persisted over whether any hostage remains still lie in Gaza. PBS reported that two remains, one Israeli and a Thai national, remained in Gaza and that Hamas said it was "determined to uphold its side of the agreement and return them both." TRT and AP, however, reported that Israeli forces earlier in the week had received the remains of Ran Gvili, described as the last hostage held in Gaza, indicating a possible timing difference between the various tallies.

Humanitarian conditions remain acute. PBS reporting noted that nearly all Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced and dependent on aid, that rebuilding has barely begun and that Hamas continues to exert control over large parts of the territory. AP also cautioned it is unclear whether the bodies returned Jan. 29 were of detainees who died in Israeli custody or were remains recovered from battlefields; Israeli authorities have not provided a definitive accounting.

Officials urged verification of final counts and identities. Journalists and diplomats said consolidated figures from the ICRC and Gaza Health Ministry, along with clear timelines for subsequent phases of the ceasefire, are needed to assess the durability of the truce and to plan reconstruction and humanitarian support.