DaysofPal – Palestinians on Wednesday buried 54 unidentified bodies handed over by Israeli authorities as part of a prisoner exchange deal linked to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan, according to officials in Gaza.
Dozens of people, including medical staff, civil defense members, and families of the missing, participated in the somber funeral procession. The bodies were laid to rest in a mass grave in the central Gaza Strip after the Ministry of Health completed official procedures.
Medical personnel said that many of the bodies were unrecognizable due to the condition in which they were returned, preventing families from identifying their relatives. The handover came after Israel delivered the remains in five separate batches over the past several days.
At a press conference held at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital ahead of the burial, Ismail Thawabta, Director General of Gaza’s Government Media Office, said that many of the bodies bore visible signs of torture.
“Official examinations confirmed that the occupation forces committed horrific violations against the victims,” Thawabta stated. “A number of them were executed by hanging or shot at close range, clear evidence of deliberate executions of prisoners.”
He added that the Israeli occupation refused to provide official lists of the names of those handed over, further complicating efforts to identify the dead.
Thawabta urged UN agencies and international human rights organizations to send independent delegations to inspect the bodies and investigate alleged violations committed by Israeli forces.
He called for those responsible to be held accountable before international courts, emphasizing that the handover and burial process revealed “grave crimes that cannot remain without justice.”
According to Thawabta, the bodies were buried only after a five-day deadline for identification had passed. Medical teams documented and photographed all remains and their personal belongings before burial, placing each in numbered graves for potential future identification.
Around 165 bodies have been turned over to Gaza by Israeli authorities in recent days. Dozens are still unidentified, although some were recognized by their relatives.
Human rights and government sources estimate that around 5,000 Palestinians are currently missing, their families unsure whether they are detained in Israeli prisons or among those whose bodies remain withheld by the Israeli occupation.
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