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Israel today returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza. It is the latest exchange of bodies between Israel and Hamas - a requirement of President Trump's peace plan. In all, Hamas has returned the bodies of 10 hostages of the estimated 28 that it's believed to be holding, but the militant group has said that it cannot access the remaining bodies. Israeli officials say these delays are a violation of the ceasefire, and they're threatening to resume fighting. Meanwhile, relatives of the dead in both Israel and Gaza have been trying to give their returned loved ones dignified burials. NPR's Anas Baba and Carrie Kahn report.
UNIDENTIFIED MOURNERS: (Singing in Hebrew).
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: At a small cemetery in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, people sing a solemn Hebrew prayer surrounding the coffin of Guy Illouz, draped in the Israeli flag.
UNIDENTIFIED MOURNERS: (Singing in Hebrew).
KAHN: The 26-year-old sound engineer was shot by Hamas militants who stormed a music festival on October 7, 2023. He was kidnapped and then taken back injured into Gaza. He died of his wounds later that year, according to the Israeli military. His father, Michel Illouz, told the crowd he easily identified his son in the morgue by his smile and serenity.
MICHEL ILLOUZ: (Speaking Hebrew).
KAHN: "You've returned to your family's embrace now," he said, "and to the millions of countrymen whose heart your story touched."
Under the peace plan, Israel agreed to return 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli body Hamas hands over. Hamas says it can't locate any more than the 10 bodies it's already returned without international help and heavy machinery. For many attending Guy Illouz's funeral, like Hanah Kay, originally from the U.K., they don't believe Hamas...
HANAH KAY: We've completed our part. We've upheld our part of the bargain, which Trump was very, very clear when he spoke. And they're not upholding their end of the deal.
KAHN: ...But say Israel should keep its word.
KAY: They should have their bodies back.
KAHN: Her friends agree. They say everyone deserves the burial and closure. Several top Israeli officials have threatened to return to fighting if Hamas doesn't return all the bodies.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Shouting in non-English language).
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
KAHN: Meanwhile, only a few funerals have taken place in Gaza, like this one in this video shared with NPR. Dozens of men carry a single body wrapped in white through the streets. Some fire guns into the air.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
KAHN: There aren't that many funerals because Israel returned the more than 100 bodies with no identification. The head of the forensic department at Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, Dr. Ahmed Duheir, told NPR's Anas Baba it's going to be difficult to determine who they all are.
AHMED DUHEIR: (Speaking Arabic).
KAHN: "We don't have the resources for DNA testing, and our doctors are exhausted by war," he says.
NPR contacted the Israeli military, the prison authorities and other security agencies. None said they had information about who the men were.
DUHEIR: (Speaking Arabic).
KAHN: "Some were naked, and some were bound with clear signs of restraint," Dr. Duheir said.
The Gaza Ministry of Health today posted a picture of one man's body with his hands bound behind his back, blindfolded and a rope around his neck. NPR contacted multiple security agents for comment. None responded. Health officials in Gaza say they can't store the bodies and have posted dozens of graphic photos on its website for families to claim their loved ones.
(SOUNDBITE OF ENGINE CHUGGING)
KAHN: Mahmoud Al-Hadidi says he's been searching for his nephew for nearly two years.
MAHMOUD AL-HADIDI: (Speaking Arabic).
KAHN: He has no information and will search the website for his body, he told NPR's Anas Baba in Gaza City's market.
AL-HADIDI: (Speaking Arabic).
KAHN: He said families on both sides of the war feel the same suffering, and he says both deserve closure.
With Anas Baba in Gaza City, I'm Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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