Palestinians who were detained by Israel have been returned to the besieged Gaza Strip, some of which have undergone torture.
Despite a shaky ceasefire, which left at least three people dead and the return of the Palestinian remains via the International Committee of the Red Cross, came as Israeli forces continued airstrikes across the Strip on Friday.
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According to the Wafa news agency, one Palestinian was killed and his brother was wounded in the Israeli-run Shujayea neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, while another was killed in Israeli shelling at the Jabalia refugee camp. According to the report, a third Palestinian died from wounds sustained by previous Israeli shelling.
Separately, civil defense workers in the az-Zahra neighborhood of central Gaza reported finding a Palestinian’s body among the rubble of the Abu Medein family’s home.
On Friday, Israeli warplanes flew over Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
As part of the prisoner-captive exchange agreement reached in early October, the slain Palestinian prisoners are now back. The Palestinian Health Ministry announced in a statement that the body count has increased to 225 since the most recent handover.
According to the statement, medical teams are documenting the bodies and contacting their families using standard protocols.
According to medical sources, prisoners’ bodies had previously displayed signs of torture, including being blindfolded and handcuffed. Some appeared to be burned or decomposed, while others were missing teeth or limbs.
Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel, many of whom are still incarcerated in administrative detention, without making any formal legal claims. Since the start of its war on Gaza, reports that Israel tortures Palestinian prisoners have increased.
In exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2, 000 Palestinian political prisoners, Hamas released 20 living prisoners under the US-brokered agreement to end Israel’s two-year occupation of Gaza. Additionally, Israeli forces have partially withdrawn from Gaza’s urban centers.
However, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire started on October 10 in the area. 104 people were killed in Israeli attacks, including 20 women and 46 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry from Tuesday through Wednesday.
Palestinians are still “really struggling.”
It was unclear whether the three victims were dead or alive when the Red Cross announced the unidentified remains of three people to Israel late on Friday.
According to a source from the Israeli military, bodies were moved to a “forensic research laboratory” to verify their identities, according to a news agency.
Hamas had earlier delivered two bodies of Israeli prisoners’ bodies. The group has so far recovered the remains of 17 of its captives, not including three bodies from Friday.
The Palestinian organization made a commitment to exchange the bodies of all 28 prisoners for those who had died in the war as part of the agreement.
The group is still urging government officials to provide the necessary tools and assistance in removing the debris and rubble from massive mounds, where thousands of Palestinians who lost to Israeli bombardment are still buried.
According to sources with the armed group, the Red Cross and members of Hamas’ military unit, the Qassam Brigades, they made the trip to east Khan Younis on Friday to search for the remains of Israeli prisoners.
Israel has still refused to let much-needed humanitarian aid trucks enter the enclave, where famine was declared earlier this year, as Hamas appears to be committed to the ceasefire agreement.
While Israel has allowed a new wave of aid trucks to enter Gaza on Friday, “humanitarian aid trucks remain partially restricted,” according to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, who is reporting from az-Zawayda in central Gaza.
He claimed that Palestinians are “really struggling to get aid from the UN warehouses.”
The ceasefire is not only about bringing food in, but also about making sure shelter supplies can [reach] people in need, according to Palestinians, who still find the situation to be very difficult.
Concerns about a ceasefire
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that various foreign ministers would meet to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and its upcoming steps.
Officials who had met US President Donald Trump in New York in September were slated for a meeting with Fidan at a press conference in Ankara, according to Fidan, who stated that the discussions were advancing toward the formation of a Gaza task force and stabilization force.
Turkiye expressed concern about the continuation of the ceasefire, according to him.
Former Israeli prime minister Yossi Beilin said he “would be surprised” if Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course on the ceasefire despite warnings that it is putting more strain on the country.
According to Beilin, “He committed himself to this, primarily to President Trump, and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t continue to follow the terms of the agreement,” Beilin told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the top attorney for the Israeli army, has been fired over a video that was leaked last year that allegedly showed an Israeli soldier sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman detention facility.
