Live: Israel threatens Gaza war restart as Hamas searches for bodies

Wednesday, 29 Oct 2025

The remains of 12 deceased Israeli captives are still in Gaza, with Hamas saying locating the bodies in the vast rubble from Israeli bombardment makes the grim task extremely difficult.

Palestinians in Gaza are burying dozens of bodies that Israel returned in exchange for the remains of Israeli captives, with many unrecognisable and displaying signs of torture and mutilation.

More than two weeks after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Palestinians are still struggling to find food, clean water, fuel and reliable shelter as Israel continues to curb aid entering Gaza in defiance of an International Court of Justice ruling.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 68,527 people and wounded 170,395 since it began in 7 October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and about 200 were taken captive.

The Israeli military said Hamas handed over the body of another deceased captive, as the army’s chief has promised that the war on Gaza will go on until the remains of all abductees are received.

Gaza’s Health Ministry announced it is opening a new office to work on identifying the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians returned by Israel under the ceasefire with Hamas, with many unrecognisable due to decomposition and mistreatment.

Two years of war on Gaza has more than doubled the number of people in the enclave who need mental health care, rising from about 485,000 to more than one million, the World Health Organization said.

Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have surged, with 757 incidents recorded in the first half of 2025, 13 percent more than the same period last year, according to the UN Human Rights Office.

The UN and France condemned an Israeli attack near UN peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon after international soldiers neutralised an “aggressive” Israeli reconnaissance drone.

(Click here for Android APP of IBTN. You can follow us on facebook and Twitter)

Share This News

About sharing