GAZA CITY — Gazan authorities have accused Israel of systematically stealing organs from Palestinian corpses returned during the recent ceasefire deal, asserting that many bodies were missing eyes, corneas, livers, and other internal organs.
Dr. Ismail al-Thawabta, director of Gaza’s government media office, called for an international investigation, describing the act as “a serious violation of human dignity and international law.” According to reports, 120 Palestinian bodies were handed over through the Red Cross, many showing signs of mutilation, torture, and field execution.
The accusations come amid reports that Israel has repeatedly desecrated cemeteries, exhumed mass graves, and withheld Palestinian bodies. Rights groups like Euro-Med Monitor and Al-Haq say these acts constitute war crimes and violations of the Geneva Conventions, which forbid the mutilation of corpses and mandate respectful handling of the dead.
A Pattern of Abuse
Claims of Israeli organ theft are not new. In the 1990s, Israeli pathologist Yehuda Hiss admitted to harvesting organs and tissues—often without consent—from Palestinians, soldiers, and foreign workers. Similar accusations resurfaced during the First Intifada and have continued through Israel’s wars on Gaza.
Israel has also passed laws allowing it to withhold the bodies of Palestinians, storing many in so-called “Cemeteries of Numbers,” where graves are marked with numbers instead of names.
The latest allegations arise in the aftermath of a devastating two-year Israeli assault on Gaza that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead. Under the recent ceasefire, Israel released Palestinian detainees in exchange for Israeli hostages. Many of the returned bodies arrived in what Palestinian officials described as “horrific condition,” fueling renewed outrage over Israel’s treatment of both the living and the dead.
Rights groups warn that the systematic abuse of Palestinian bodies reflects a wider pattern of dehumanization and control—what scholars call “necropower”—used to dominate every aspect of Palestinian life, even in death.
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