DayofPal– The Government Media Office in Gaza has strongly criticized the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for what it calls a “double standard” in handling the bodies of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Ismail Thawabta, Director General of the Gaza Media Office, condemned the Red Cross for conducting “formal and dignified” ceremonies when receiving the bodies of Israeli prisoners, while allegedly handling Palestinian martyrs’ bodies in a disrespectful manner.
“While the Red Cross holds official, solemn ceremonies when receiving Israeli prisoners’ bodies, it delivers Palestinian martyrs’ bodies in blue bags, thrown into trucks that lack the most basic elements of human dignity,” Thawabta stated.
This criticism follows the handover of four Israeli prisoners’ bodies by Palestinian factions to the ICRC in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, earlier on Thursday. The factions ensured the bodies were placed in separate coffins, each labeled with identification details, in what they described as a demonstration of respect for the deceased.
Hamas, in a statement on Thursday, blamed the Israeli military for the deaths of the four Israeli captives, stating they had perished due to Israeli airstrikes on their detention locations. The movement stressed that it had treated the captives humanely and made efforts to save them.
The bodies handed over included those of a mother and her two children, as well as Israeli prisoner Oded Lifshitz. Their return was part of the seventh batch of prisoners’ swap under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which has been in place since January 19.
Additionally, Hamas has announced that it will release six Israeli prisoners alive on Saturday in exchange for the release of 800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons reportedly face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, conditions that have led to the deaths of many of them, according to reports from Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.
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