Palestinians are still waiting in Khan Younis or Gaza City for the bodies to be handed over by the Red Cross.

Israel has handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians to the ICRC in exchange for the remains of the last Israeli prisoner. Recaptured by Israeli forces Earlier this week, that part of the more than two-year genocidal war in Gaza ended.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza, said the Palestinian authorities were still trying to determine whether the Palestinian bodies would be handed over to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis or Shifa Hospital in Gaza City later on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Israel laid to rest police officer Ran Gvili, who was killed in a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

On that day, Hamas and other Palestinian groups captured 251 prisoners, and Gweli was the last remaining body held in Palestinian territory.

At Wednesday’s funeral, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Gweli as “Israel’s hero” and warned Israel’s enemies that they would pay a heavy price if they launched another attack.

Over the course of Israel’s war, the return of all prisoners from Gaza has been dragged out by a series of ceasefires and prisoner exchange deals, as well as a number of mostly failed military rescue attempts.

The latest series of prisoner transfers are part of a ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10.

Although all Gaza captives have been returned to Israel, thousands of Palestinians continue to languish in Israeli jails, many without charge or trial.

July 2024 Report An investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found that Israel held approximately 9,400 Palestinians as “security detainees”, often without giving reasons for their detention, and that abuses such as torture and sexual assault were common in these facilities.

In November, the human rights group Physicians for Human Rights Israel issued a report The statement said that among Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, at least 94 died in detention due to torture, medical neglect, malnutrition and attacks. The real number is likely much higher, the report said.

Dozens of Palestinian prisoner bodies returned in previous exchanges showed signs of torture, mutilation and execution.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday that the Israeli army “used for the first time statistics from the Gaza Ministry of Health on the deaths of nearly 70,000 Palestinians during the war.” Israel has repeatedly disputed the death toll announced by the ministry. Since the war began, more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel.

Meanwhile, Palestinians are waiting Reopening of Rafah crossing point The military operation between Gaza and Egypt, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal with Hamas, is what Washington has urged Israel to do.

Once the prisoner exchange is complete, the deal calls for a political transition in Gaza, starting with a Palestinian council of technocrats taking charge of the day-to-day governance of the enclave.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said the group was ready to hand over governance of Gaza to the council.

“The agreement is ready, the documentation is complete and the committee to oversee the transfer is in place to ensure the complete transfer of governance of all sectors in the Gaza Strip to a committee of technical experts,” Qassem said.

The commission will work under the supervision of the Peace Commission, which was created and chaired by US President Donald Trump. Its work is bound to be difficult.

On Thursday, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bashar warned that the besieged area was experiencing an “unprecedented disaster” as Israel’s continued blockade led to a lack of shelter and food, as well as shortages of medical supplies.

Also on Thursday, mourners buried the bodies of two Palestinians who, according to medics, were shot by Israel outside the “yellow line” in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis governorate, where 58 percent of the Strip is still occupied by Israeli forces.