GRIM EXCHANGE OF REMAINS IN GAZA

ISRAEL handed over the bodies of 30 Palestinians yesterday, amid hopes the fragile Gaza ceasefire could be holding.

- BY CHRIS HUGHES

It came a day after Hamas returned dead hostages Sahar Baruch, 25, and 84-year-old Amiram Cooper. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis confirmed they received the bodies of the Palestinians but did not immediately say what state they were in or identify them.

It is unclear if they were killed in the Hamas October 7 raids on Israel in 2023, died in custody or in the fighting. Gaza health officials have struggled to identify the bodies without DNA kits.