Israel returns bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza as exchanges outlined in fragile ceasefire proceed

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM METZ Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Authorities at Gaza s largest functioning hospital revealed Wednesday that the bodies of more Palestinians were returned from Israel as exchanges outlined in last month s fragile ceasefire continued despite statements of violations Related Articles In contemporary times in History November Susan B Anthony defies law and casts vote for president Trump administration announces th deadly strike on an alleged drug boat Boeing may face its first civil trial over payouts to families of casualties in Ethiopia crash US proposes that the UN authorize a Gaza stabilization force for years Climate-fighting efforts show slight gain but still fall far short UN says The International Committee of the Red Cross has transported bodies held in Israeli custody to Gaza since last month s agreement was brokered though robustness leaders in Gaza have mentioned identifying the remains is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits Israel has not disclosed how multiple bodies it is holding or where they were recovered but has been returning each time the remains of an Israeli hostage are returned from Gaza The were returned to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Wednesday a day after Palestinian militants in Gaza handed over the body of an Israeli soldier taken hostage in the Oct terrorist attack that started the war The exchanges are the central component of the initial phase of the U S -brokered agreement which requires Hamas return all hostage remains as hastily as accomplishable The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching other terms of the deal Hamas returned living hostages to Israel on Oct The group has since also returned the remains of bodies Israeli agents have decried parts of the process as a violation of the agreement accusing Hamas of handing over partial remains in particular instances and staging the discovery of bodies in others It has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has mentioned the remains were not those of hostages Hamas has mentioned recovering bodies is complicated by the widespread devastation in the coastal enclave and has returned one to three bodies every sparse days It has accused Israel of opening fire at civilians and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory The number of casualties has dropped since the ceasefire took effect But wellbeing administrators in Gaza who do not distinguish between civilians and militants have continued to assessment deaths from strikes while Israel has stated that soldiers have also been killed The deal will not move to subsequent phases until all the remains of Israeli hostages are returned The next parts of the -point plan call for creating an international stabilization force Its makeup hasn t been finalized but diplomats are working to define its role persuade Arab countries to take part and win wider international help What we believe is that whatever entity that is created in Gaza should have the legitimacy of a mandate from the Measure Council U N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported reporters in Doha on Tuesday The fragile agreement aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about people and saw taken hostage Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than Palestinians in Gaza according to Gaza s Fitness Ministry The ministry part of the Hamas-run regime and staffed by therapeutic professionals maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts Israel which has denied accusations by a U N commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza has disputed the ministry s figures without providing a contradicting toll Metz published from Rabat Morocco