FILE- Employees of the Nasser Medical Complex check the content of a body bag, one of the bodies of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and released as part of the captives exchange deal, as they arrive in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today facilitated the return of 15 deceased Palestinians to Gaza... This marks the completion of a months-long operation that reunited families and supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreement," the ICRC said in a statement.
Under the US-sponsored Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned. Israeli forces brought home on Monday the remains of Ran Gvili, the last captive held in Gaza.
Israel's army has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the start of war on 7 October 2023.
Meawhile, Hamas said on Wednesday it was ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee, while insisting the key Rafah border crossing be fully reopened within days.
"Protocols are prepared, files are complete, and committees are in place to oversee the handover, ensuring a complete transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip across all sectors to the technocratic committee," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.
The 15-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is a team of Palestinian technocrats created as part of the US-sponsored ceasefire agreement which came into effect on October 10.
It is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza and will work under the supervision of the "Board of Peace", which US President Donald Trump will chair.
The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the territory's Rafah crossing, on its border with Egypt, reopens.
Hamas spokesman Qassem added that the Rafah crossing "must be opened in both directions, with full freedom of exit and entry to the Gaza Strip, without any Israeli obstacles".
Rafah is Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel and is a key entry point for both people and goods.
It has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it in May 2024, except for a limited reopening in early 2025, and other bids to reopen have failed to materialise.
NCAG head Shaath announced last week that Rafah would reopen in both directions the following week.
Qassem told AFP the "independent national committee's announcement of the opening of the Rafah crossing is important".
"What is more important is that we monitor this committee's handling of citizens' departures and entries in full freedom in accordance with the agreement, and not according to Israeli conditions," he added.
Israel has said it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the crossing as part of its "limited reopening" once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili.
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