Palestinian death toll passes 69,000 as Israel-Gaza truce allows body recovery

Gaza health officials said on Saturday that over 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war so far, as Israel and Hamas completed the latest exchange of bodies under the terms of the tenuous ceasefire agreement.

The latest jump in deaths is attributed to more bodies being recovered under the rubble in the devastated strip since the ceasefire began on October 10, and also because previously unidentified bodies were identified.

It also includes Palestinians killed by strikes on the territory since the truce took hold, attacks that Israel says are to take out remaining militants.

Though fragile, the deal appears to be holding, with Israel earlier on Saturday returning the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza, according to hospital officials in the strip. The handover came a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel.

The exchanges of the dead are the central component of the initial phase of the ceasefire deal, which requires that Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.