In a development under the current truce, the remains of three Israeli soldiers have been recovered and repatriated. The soldiers, whose bodies were located in a tunnel in southern Gaza, were killed during the initial cross-border raid in October 2023. Their identities have been confirmed as a colonel, a tank commander who held dual Israeli-American citizenship, and a sergeant.
This transfer is part of a broader, ongoing exchange. In return for the remains of one Israeli hostage, Israel has been releasing the bodies of 15 Palestinians. To date, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been transferred to Gaza, though the vast majority remain unidentified and in an advanced state of decomposition. Health officials in Gaza reported that 45 bodies were received at a hospital near Khan Younis on Monday.
The current ceasefire agreement, mediated by the United States, has already seen the release of all living hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. A key provision also requires the handover of the remains of all 28 hostages who died in captivity. Following this latest transfer, the bodies of eight individuals are still unaccounted for in Gaza.
The process of recovering and identifying the dead has been severely hampered. Authorities in Gaza cite the widespread destruction from the conflict, which has crippled the health system and left them without essential equipment like DNA kits for identification. Only a small fraction of the returned bodies have been formally identified, leading officials to post photographs online in a desperate bid for recognition by families. Some relatives are attempting identification based on scraps of clothing.
It remains unclear whether the Palestinians whose bodies have been returned were killed during the 2023 attack, died while in Israeli detention, or were recovered from the battlefield in Gaza. The slow and difficult process of these exchanges represents one of the significant challenges facing the broader peace effort.
While the ceasefire has largely held, it remains tense. Both sides have traded accusations of violations, and Israeli leadership has stated that militant pockets persist in areas under its control, vowing their elimination. Meanwhile, the families of those killed and taken hostage continue to hold weekly vigils, with one speaker recently pleading for restraint to avoid another spiral of violence.
The conflict, which began with the 2023 attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, has resulted in a devastating toll in Gaza. Health authorities there report over 68,600 Palestinians killed, a figure disputed by Israel. The fighting has left much of the coastal enclave in ruins.