Israel has returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians, as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
135 bodies have been handed over this week. But doctors and families of the missing say they're struggling to identify the bodies.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

The U.S brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas agreed to release all remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

Hamas and Israel have continued to exchange bodies as part of a ceasefire agreement, with Israel returning the remains of 15 Palestinians and Hamas handing over two Israeli captives' bodies. Identification of the returned bodies has proven difficult for families and medical teams in Gaza due to decomposition and lack of documentation. 

The ceasefire has allowed some normal activities to resume in Gaza, including the reopening of banks. While cash remains scarce, residents are using bank applications to conduct transactions and purchase essential goods. However, challenges such as internet connectivity and limited cash availability persist, with authorities working to stabilize financial services amid ongoing security concerns.

Gaza reclaims normalcy with bank openings as sides exchange bodies

Hamas and Israel have conducted more exchanges of bodies as part of the ceasefire deal that's now in its second week. Israel has returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians to the Gaza Strip. -... Palestinians gathered at a medical complex in southern Gaza to find out if their loved ones were among the 135 handed over this week. But doctors and families of the missing say they're struggling to identify the bodies. It is not normal. We found it hard to identify his face. Although they say he was kept in a freezer, the features should have certainly remained to a degree. But from what we actually saw, there are no facial features. I'm here to look because they said there are martyrs. I'm here to find out if my son is a martyr. Meanwhile, Hamas has handed over the remains of another two Israeli captives from Gaza. To date, it's transferred 12 of the 28 bodies it agreed to return under the terms of the ceasefire. The Red Cross handed over two coffins to the Israeli military late on Saturday. One of the bodies has been identified as 54-year-old Ronan Tomei-Engel, who was killed on October the 7th, 2023. Hamas says that it's committed to meeting its obligations under the truce, but says the devastation and unexploded ordnance are delaying recovery efforts. Tarek Abbas, we'll bring you in this hour. You're joining us from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. So going back to bodies being released from either side, are Palestinians expecting more to arrive from Israel later today? As a part of the ceasefire, yes, Palestinians are still expecting that a new patch of Palestinian bodies will be returned by the International Committee of the Red Cross and will be handed over to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, possibly in Nasser Hospital. This has been the pattern that we have seen over the past three days. And we saw severe challenges also facing forensic teams that are operating under unthinkable circumstances in light of the absence of medical apparatuses and also medical equipment that can help to identify the bodies. We have been told by some forensic experts that they are really battling to know who is the body for. Given the fact that there are no any kind of personal belongings, there is some sort of Israeli complete withholding for the names, the ages and the circumstances of their death, which raises serious questions about the level of transparency as well regarding the further release of the details about the bodies and how they were completely killed. Also, Gaza's health ministry said that there are different signs of decomposition for the bodies and many of them have been lacking any kind of scars or even documentation that can help their families to realise their identity. It has been a grim reality as medical teams are still on alert, waiting for the new batch to arrive as soon as the International Committee of the Red Cross will receive the green light by the Israeli military to move towards the Yusufim military checkpoint that is located in the southern part of Deir el-Balah. Tarek, is there a sense of calm returning to parts of Gaza? Like, for example, Palestinians having the opportunity to do something as normal as banking? Are they able to go about their day-to-day lives? Well, Palestinians have started to reclaim some sense of normalcy and it has been quite obvious from the early hours of this morning. As you can right now see in the frame, let me just step out so I can make the scene much clearer for our viewers. Women, men and elderly people have been gathering from the early hours of this morning, waiting to have an access inside this bank that started its operation today after the ceasefire took effect. This bank was not operational before due to the lack of safety and also the Israeli repeated attacks on main financial headquarters across the Gaza Strip. And for many Palestinians, this has been a moment that they were waiting before, given the fact that there is a huge scarcity in terms of the availability of cash in these banks. And at the moment, there is no cash inside these banks, but people are trying to carry out some financial transactions that can help them to activate their bank app and to start using it in order to buy and sell also their goods. For many Palestinians, there is a huge transformation from relying on the cash in light of the high commission deducted by local brokers into fully using the bank app so they can facilitate the process of getting food, water and essential services that started to widely spread across the entire Gaza Strip. But people are also raising concerns about the stability of internet connectivity for many Palestinians. This is another challenge regarding the accomplishment of this sort of transaction. People say that this is a new shift in terms of the financial deals being made on the ground and for others, they believe that it's a good step to alleviate the repercussions of completely using cash in light of the high amount of commission being taken by local brokers. For example, Darine, if you want to get $1,000 in cash, you need to transfer via the bank application around $1,500 to that broker so you can get the amount of money that you need in cash. So this has been a serious challenge that started to gradually now being solved and to be dwindled as the Gaza, as the Ministry of Monetary is trying to resolve this crisis but waiting for further stability in terms of the security conditions and the shape of governance that will absolutely determine the possibility of bringing huge amounts of money to these local banks that are left operational. Tarek, thank you so much for that reporting from Deir el-Balakh in central Gaza.

Thieves wielding power tools have struck at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing priceless jewels in a brazen heist that took just four minutes, according to the government. The thieves struck after the museum had already opened its doors to the public, with a major investigation now underway.

Paris

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Bogotá

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Chicago

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Beijing

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Washington

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Doha

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Windsor

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London

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Lima

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Gaza reclaims normalcy with bank openings as sides exchange bodies

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