Gaza’s Health Ministry has said it received the remains of 15 Palestinians released by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) under a ceasefire agreement.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said many of the bodies showed signs of abuse — including beatings, bound hands, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement — and were returned without names.

The latest handover brings the total number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to 300 since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, according to the ministry.

Forensic teams have so far identified 89 bodies and are continuing examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols” before the remains are documented and handed over to families.

Families have been trying to identify their relatives by clothing or physical markings, as Gaza’s forensic facilities remain out of service due to a years-long Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

Before the ceasefire, Israel reportedly held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” according to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies.

Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel has been holding around 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 69,000 people in Gaza—mostly women and children—injured over 170,600 others, and left about 9,500 missing, many believed to be trapped under rubble or unaccounted for in the attacks.