A collective funeral ceremony was held on Wednesday in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, for 54 unidentified Palestinians whose bodies were returned from Israel, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) reported.
Not all of the Palestinian bodies returned by Israel could be identified by their families “due to the serious circumstances” surrounding their deaths, according to the PCD.
Unidentified bodies of Palestinians who had been held in Israel during the war are buried at a mass burial site after they were handed over by Israel to Gaza, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, October 22, 2025.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
As the funeral took place, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis announced that Israel handed over the bodies of 30 more Palestinian prisoners as part of President Trump’s peace deal.
This brings the total number of Palestinian bodies returned to the Strip to 165, according to the Gaza government’s media office.
Returning the remains of deceased Palestinians is part of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which states that “for every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.”
The plan adds that “once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.”
Medical teams pray next to the remains and covered bodies of unidentified Palestinians, returned by Israel, before their mass burial in front of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 22, 2025.
Haitham Imad/EPA/Shutterstock
According to reports from the Gaza Media Office and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, the returned bodies showed signs of abuse, beatings, handcuffing, blindfolded and hanging by the neck.
Rejecting reports of any torture, the Israeli military told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday that “the IDF did not bind any bodies before their release in the Strip,” adding that they operate “strictly in accordance with international law.”
A Palestinian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, October 22, 2025.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
As the fragile peace plan between Israel and Hamas faces accusations of violations from both sides, families of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners continue to wait for the return of their loved ones’ remains.
Currently, the bodies of 13 Israelis remain in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military confirmed the identities of two hostages whose bodies were returned by Hamas on Tuesday.
