Israel Holds Bodies of 726 Palestinians, Including 67 Children

Kokcha News Agency: On the occasion of the “National Day for the Return of Martyrs’ Bodies,” Hamas issued a statement condemning Israel’s policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians. The statement emphasized that this practice has reached an “unprecedented” level since October 7, 2023.

According to Hamas, Israel is currently holding the bodies of 726 Palestinians, some of whom have been detained for decades, in the “Cemetery of Numbers” or in morgues. This figure does not include Palestinians in Gaza whose burial status remains unknown.

The statement described this practice as a clear violation of international humanitarian law, which guarantees the rights of the deceased and requires respect for their dignity.

Hamas accused Israel of using the withholding of bodies as a tool to punish Palestinian families and deprive them of the right to bury their loved ones with dignity. The statement highlighted that while Palestinian resistance forces have demonstrated humanitarian and moral values in their treatment of Israeli captives’ bodies, the Israeli government continues to commit “sadistic crimes” against Palestinian bodies.

Hamas called on the United Nations and human rights organizations to pressure Israel to end this practice, release the withheld bodies, and respect the Palestinian people’s right to dignified burials.

The Palestinian civil society organization “National Initiative for the Return of Martyrs’ Bodies” revealed that among the 726 bodies being held, 67 are children and 10 are women. Additionally, 256 bodies are buried in the “Cemetery of Numbers.”

The organization also cited unnamed Israeli sources documenting that at least 1,500 bodies from Gaza have been withheld since October 7, 2023, and are being held in inhumane conditions at the Sde Teiman military base.

Israel has been withholding the bodies of Palestinians killed by its soldiers for over 50 years, denying families the right to bid farewell to their loved ones and bury them with dignity. This practice, which began as an irregular military procedure, has become entrenched in Israel’s legal system.

In 2004, a directive temporarily restricted this practice, but it was reinstated in 2015 under the British Emergency Regulations of 1945. In 2018, the Israeli Knesset amended the Counter-Terrorism Law, granting police the authority to withhold bodies.

Israeli authorities justify this practice by claiming that the bodies are held as “bargaining chips” for future prisoner exchanges. The bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers or those who die in prison are buried in the “Cemetery of Numbers,” where graves are marked only with numbers instead of names.

In September 2019, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing military authorities to temporarily bury Palestinian bodies for future use in negotiations.