GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed the supervised exchange of bodies between Israel and Hamas in accordance with a U.S.-brokered truce deal involving specific ratios and humanitarian oversight.
Red Cross supervises sensitive handover
ICRC spokesperson Rana Sidani stated that Red Cross teams on the ground monitored the transfer operation near Gaza City to ensure that both sides complied with the coordination protocol outlined on the previous day by the U.S. State Department. “THIS WAS A PURELY HUMANITARIAN ACTION WITHOUT POLITICAL NEGOTIATION,” Sidani emphasized during a briefing from Jerusalem on Friday afternoon.
Exchange terms: 1 for 15
According to information released by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel received the remains of a soldier who also held German citizenship. In return, Israeli authorities turned over 15 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza, consistent with the exchange ratio of one Israeli captive or body for fifteen Palestinian remains stipulated in the current ceasefire framework.
Data from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 285 Palestinian bodies had been released by Israel since the start of the arrangement in late May 2024, including 84 individuals identified by name through medical records at Al-Shifa Hospital.
Seven Israeli bodies remain unrecovered
Officials from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office acknowledged that seven bodies of Israeli nationals are still held in Gaza, including two foreign victims—one from Thailand and another from Tanzania—along with the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during combat in northern Gaza. A government statement dated Friday, June 7 confirmed that further negotiations would depend on “verified humanitarian conditions under ICRC supervision.”
Previous release in October
Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanoua reminded local media in Gaza City that on October 13, 2023, the group freed all remaining live hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, marking one of the largest prisoner exchanges since 2011. That earlier trade drew responses from the European Union and Germany’s Foreign Ministry, both of which described it as “a key de-escalation step.”
Unanswered questions and limited communication
Israeli officials and Hamas representatives declined to provide lists identifying the newly returned bodies. The ICRC reiterated that its role “remains confined to verification, transportation, and the respectful transfer of remains,” distancing itself from political bargaining. Families on both sides have requested DNA testing at medical facilities in Tel Aviv and Khan Younis to confirm identities before formal funerals expected next week.
Key concerns raised by aid groups include:
– Identity verification: Out of 285 bodies returned, only 84 confirmed.
– Future exchanges: Seven Israeli bodies still withheld.
– Oversight clarity: No official communication channels established since June 1.
Humanitarian observers in Gaza and Tel Aviv caution that the operational silence from both sides could threaten the tenuous ceasefire line initially arranged by U.S. envoys in early May.
“WE KEEP URGING ALL PARTIES TO CONTINUE COORDINATED HUMANITARIAN EXCHANGES TO BUILD TRUST,” an ICRC representative in Geneva said by phone late Friday night, adding that teams were “preparing secondary verification lists for upcoming transfers.”