Hospital authorities in Gaza have announced that Israel has returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians. This action follows closely on the heels of Palestinian militants in Gaza transferring the remains of two Israeli hostages back to Israel.
Officials at Nasser Hospital, located in the southern city of Khan Younis, confirmed the receipt of the bodies. However, they did not immediately provide details regarding their condition or identification.
This exchange of Palestinian remains for those of Israeli hostages serves as the latest indicator that the delicate Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement is, despite recent deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza, continuing to progress.
Prior to Friday’s (October 31, 2025) transfer, Israel had already returned 195 Palestinian bodies to authorities in Gaza, without offering specific details about their identities. It remains unclear whether these individuals were killed in Israel during the October 7 attack, died in Israeli custody as detainees, or were recovered by troops from Gaza during the war.
Health officials in Gaza have faced significant challenges in identifying these bodies due to a lack of access to necessary DNA kits.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed late Thursday (October 31) that the remains returned by Palestinian militants were identified as Sahar Baruch and Amiram Cooper. Both individuals were taken hostage during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, which ignited the current conflict.
Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has now returned the remains of 17 hostages, with 11 more still held in Gaza and slated for release under the terms of the agreement.
Sahar Baruch, who was 25, was preparing to pursue an electrical engineering degree when he was captured from Kibbutz Be’eri. His brother, Idan, was killed during the same attack. Three months into Sahar’s captivity, the Israeli military stated that he died during an attempted rescue mission.
Amiram Cooper, an 84-year-old economist, was a co-founder of Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was seized along with his wife, Nurit, who was released 17 days later. In June 2024, Israeli officials confirmed his death in Gaza.
A senior U.S. official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of private diplomatic conversations, revealed that messages relayed to Hamas via Egypt and Qatar on Wednesday (October 29) instructed the group’s remaining fighters in the designated ‘yellow zone’ to depart within 24 hours or face Israeli strikes. This deadline passed on Thursday (October 30), after which the official stated that “Israel will enforce the ceasefire and engage Hamas targets behind the yellow line.”
The ceasefire, which commenced on October 10, 2025, aims to de-escalate a conflict that has been the most lethal and devastating in the history of clashes between Israel and Hamas.
The war began following the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 individuals being taken hostage.
In the two years since, Israel’s military campaign has caused the deaths of over 68,600 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which is affiliated with the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by independent experts. Israel, while disputing these figures and having been accused by some international critics of committing genocide in Gaza, has not provided an alternative death toll.