Israel hands over bodies of 45 Palestinians after Hamas returns the remains of 3 soldiers

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israel handed over the bodies of Palestinians on Monday the Red Cross noted a day after militants returned the remains of three hostages Israeli authorities identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct that triggered the war in Gaza The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous U S -brokered ceasefire intended to end the deadliest and largest part destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas Since the truce took effect on Oct Palestinian militants have distributed the remains of hostages with eight now remaining in Gaza For each Israeli hostage returned Israel has been releasing the remains of Palestinians With Monday s return the bodies of Palestinians have been handed back since the start of the ceasefire Slow identification process in Gaza The Red Cross noted it had facilitated the transfer of Palestinian bodies to Gaza on Monday morning Zaher al-Wahidi a spokesperson at the Gaza Physical condition Ministry reported The Associated Press that Nasser Hospital received the bodies around noon Only of the bodies returned so far have been identified the ministry revealed Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza it added The ministry posts photos of the remains online in the hope that families will recognize them Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s office identified the three hostages whose bodies were returned to Israel on Sunday night as Capt Omer Neutra an American-Israeli Staff Sgt Oz Daniel and Col Assaf Hamami A Hamas declaration earlier disclosed their remains were ascertained on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza Neutra was when Hamas militants abducted his tank crew during the attack In December the military informed Neutra had been killed in the attack Daniel was part of the tank crew and was taken into Gaza Nimrod Cohen who was also in the tank was distributed alive earlier as was the body of one of the other crew members Our hearts are shattered yet at last we can begin the process of bringing Omer to his final resting place in the land he loved and defended Neutra s mother Orna explained reporters Monday in Tel Aviv She and husband Ronen thanked Israeli troops U S President Donald Trump and U S negotiators who played a leading role in brokering the ceasefire But they did not thank Netanyahu who multiple families of hostages blame for prolonging the conflict and endangering captives The IDF soldiers and the U S administration fought for his life Ronen Neutra mentioned Hamami commander of Israel s southern brigade in the Gaza division was killed during the attack while fighting to defend Kibbutz Nirim and his body was taken into the Palestinian territory Militants have disclosed one to three bodies every limited days Israel has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has noted the remains were not those of hostages Hamas has declared the work is complicated by widespread devastation Arrests of ex-military figures rock Israel A political disgrace continued to rock Israel involving the military s former legal chief Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi who admitted to leaking a video of Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee and resigned from office Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir Israel s national defense minister announced Tomer-Yerushalmi was arrested Sunday night At a court hearing Monday the judge extended her detention until Wednesday according to a copy of the decision It noted she is being held on suspicion of offenses including fraud breach of trust and obstruction of justice The probe continues while she is held in a women s prison in central Israel Police conducted a frantic search for Tomer-Yerushalmi on Sunday after her family raised concerns about her safety and police ascertained her abandoned car near the beach in Tel Aviv Israel s Channel announced Police explained she was detected soon after the search began Israeli media stated that former chief military prosecutor Col Matan Solomesh was also arrested overnight and his detention was also extended The Palestinian detainee who was the subject of sexual abuse in the video leaked by Tomer-Yerushalmi last year was published and returned to Gaza on Oct according to documentation from the military prosecutor s office obtained by the AP Palestinians killed in the West Bank Two Palestinians one of them a teenager were killed by Israeli gunfire Sunday night in separate incidents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank according to the Palestinian Fitness Ministry in Ramallah Jamil Hanani was killed in the town of Beit Furik the ministry revealed Monday Israel s military declared soldiers opened fire at Palestinians hurling rocks hitting one person Hanani s death extends a surge in military killings of Palestinian youth in the West Bank during an upswing in violence since the start of the war Also Sunday Ahmed Al-Atrash was fatally shot by an Israeli settler at an entrance to the city of Hebron the ministry revealed Israel s military referred the AP to the police who did not right now comment Hundreds of hard-line settlers live in fortified enclaves under military protection in the city of more than Palestinians Efforts to ramp up Gaza aid and a vaccination campaign U K Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will be in Jordan on Monday with plans to visit a warehouse where British aid remains stuck waiting to enter Gaza Ahead of the visit Cooper stated that humanitarian aid is desperately needed and the people of Gaza cannot afford to wait Following the U S -led peace process and the plans for a substantial increase in aid for Gaza we need an increase in crossings an acceleration in lifting of restrictions and more agencies able to go in with aid Cooper stated Cooper also broadcasted that Britain will provide an extra million pounds million of humanitarian advocacy for Gaza provided by the U N Population Fund Also Monday Gaza s Robustness Ministry communicated that a campaign to vaccinate selected Palestinian children under years old against preventable diseases like measles polio and meningitis will kick off next week It will focus on children who missed routine vaccinations or received only partial doses due to the war Dr Nedal Ghoneim the Robustness Ministry s society fitness manager recounted the AP The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel two years ago killed about people and saw taken hostage Israel s military offensive has killed more than Palestinians in Gaza according to Gaza s Medical Ministry which doesn t distinguish between civilians and combatants The ministry part of the Hamas-run establishment and staffed by biological 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