Israel's military rejected on Tuesday Palestinian allegations of mass burials and possible executions at a Gaza hospital, and said it had exhumed corpses to try to find hostages taken by Hamas in October.

"The claim that the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded," the military said in a statement, adding that its forces returned bodies to where they had been buried, after they were examined.

"The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages. The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased."

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell;)