The Palestinian Ministry of Health has said Israel has returned the bodies of 80 Palestinians killed in the military campaign in Gaza, Reuters reports.

Israel said it was returning the bodies after confirming that they were not Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

The ministry said the bodies were buried and the authorities recorded details to help with later identification. Gaza authorities were trying to figure out when and where the men were killed and who they were.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that during the war, bodies have been transported to Israel “for an identification procedure as part of our effort to locate the hostages and the missing persons”.

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