Relatives looking for their loved ones keep gathering daily at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where dozens of bodies held by Israel were sent back to the Gaza Strip as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.

A total of 195 bodies were transported by the Red Cross to the hospital in southern Gaza since last week, when the agreement was put in place.

Israel released bodies of Palestinians while Hamas and other militant groups released 15 of the 28 bodies of Israeli hostages.

Israel has not provided identification for the bodies or explained their origins.

They could include Palestinians who died during the Oct. 7 attacks, detainees who died in custody or bodies that were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war.

So far, authorities in Gaza have identified 52 of the returned bodies, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Doctors and family members in the Palestinian territory said they are struggling to identify them.

A big screen showing pictures of some of the bodies was put in the center of the room of Nasser Hospital, where people gather and watch the photos before speaking with the workers helping with the identification process.

Salem Al-Arouqi, the father of deceased Muhanad Al-Arouqi identified his body via a link on the internet.

“I noticed that my son's fingers and toes were pointing inwards and had become smaller, the left and right are the same. So we were suspicious, then we came here. They took out his body and identified it,” said Al-Arouqi

Gaza’s Ministry of Health also posted the images of the bodies on their website.

Health authorities in the blockaded territory do not have access to DNA testing or other sophisticated technology that Israel has used to identify the remains of hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

"They are all the same, and they are all rotten and decomposed corpses. There is no distinguishing features. We demand their names or DNA testing. We don't demand anything more than that," said Hiba Al-Attar, the wife of Suleiman Al-Attar who went missing on the 7th of October 2024. Suleiman used to work in a settlement in Israel.

A senior health official in Gaza said some bodies bore “evidence of torture” and called for an investigation.

The Israeli military says it acts in accordance with local and international law and “completely rejects allegations regarding the systematic abuse of detainees.”

As part of the ceasefire that paused the fighting between Israel and Hamas, both sides are expected to release bodies of hostages as well as Palestinians held in Israel.

At least 57 bodies were buried in a mass grave in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, while the rest are at Nasser Hospital waiting to be identified.

AP Video by Mohammad Jahjouh