Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies

GAZA CITY, Oct 18 (AFP): Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number handed over to 135, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.

Late on Friday, Hamas handed over the body of another Israeli hostage.

Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has handed over the bodies of nine Israelis and one Nepalese student.

The Gaza health ministry said that some of the bodies returned on Saturday bore signs of "abuse, beatings, handcuffing and blindfolding".

The ministry made similar claims regarding other bodies previously returned under the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli military has said these claims were "Hamas's false propaganda".

"Furthermore, all the bodies returned so far are from combatants within the Gaza Strip," it told AFP on Friday.

ICC rejects Israel

appeal bid over

arrest warrants

The International Criminal Court Friday rejected Israel's bid to appeal against arrest warrants for its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war.

In a ruling that made headlines around the world, the ICC in November found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The ICC also issued arrest warrants for three top leaders from the Palestinian militant movement Hamas but dropped these after their deaths.

The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant sparked outrage in Israel and also in the United States, which has since slapped sanctions on top ICC officials.