Israel returns Palestinian bodies, marking last exchange between Israel
and Hamas
[January 30, 2026]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and TOQA EZZIDIN
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel turned over the bodies of 15
Palestinians on Thursday, just days after recovering the remains of the
last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said.
It marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas
carried out as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire
reached in October.
The Red Cross said that it helped facilitate the return of the bodies.
They were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, health ministry
spokeperson Zaher al-Wahidi said.
The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, had been a key
part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war.
Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage
recovered, according to the ceasefire terms. It’s unclear if the bodies
released Thursday were of Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli
custody or bodies taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.
Israel has released roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the
ceasefire deal, many of whom were seized by Israeli troops during the
more than two-year war and held without being charged. It also has
released the bodies of 360 Palestinians back to Gaza, where officials
have struggled to identify them.
The Gaza health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, has posted
photos of the deceased for families to identify. Of the bodies handed
back by Israel, about 100 have been identified by families, al-Wahidi
said.
On Monday, Israel announced that it found and identified the remains of
the last Israeli hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, following an
extensive search at a cemetery in northern Gaza.
The attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which
launched the war, killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani,” was
killed while fighting Hamas militants.
The return of his body closed a painful chapter for the country and
cleared the way for the next and more challenging phase of the
ceasefire, which calls for deploying an international security force,
disarming Hamas, pulling back Israeli soldiers and rebuilding Gaza.
Deaths continue in Gaza
While U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase
of the ceasefire deal earlier this month, Israeli fire and strikes
continue to kill Palestinians across Gaza almost daily.
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Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground
operations in Gaza City, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad
Alshrafi)
Israeli fire killed two Palestinians on Thursday in southern Gaza’s
Khan Younis area, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies
were taken. Health officials said that the two men were killed in
areas that aren't Israeli-controlled.
Another Israeli strike in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and
wounded others, according to Al-Aqsa martyrs hospital, where the
casualties were taken.
Israel's military said it carried out a “precise strike” on Thursday
that targeted a suspect planning to attack troops in the southern
Gaza Strip and killed a person who crossed the ceasefire line and
approached troops.
The Gaza Health Ministry said that 492 Palestinians have been killed
since the ceasefire. The ministry doesn't distinguish between
civilians and combatants in its figures. The ministry maintains
detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by
U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Rafah border crossing
For Palestinians separated from their families by the war and the
tens of thousands of people outside Gaza seeking to return home, the
reopening of the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt can't
come soon enough.
The crossing is expected to reopen soon, Israeli officials have
said, but how many people will be allowed to enter and leave Gaza
remains unclear.
Preparations are underway to allow the departure of a limited number
of medical evacuees who were wounded in the war and need to travel
abroad for medical care.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that crossing
won't be open to goods for now. The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to
the outside world, has been largely closed since May 2024.
___
Toqa Ezzidin reported from Cairo. Samy Magdy contributed to this
report from Cairo.
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