DaysofPal- The family of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, a prominent Palestinian orthopedic surgeon who died under Israeli detention, has launched a local and international campaign demanding the return of his body, which remains withheld by Israeli occupation months after his death.
The late doctor’s wife urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene to secure the release of her husband’s remains and those of other Palestinian detainees whose bodies are kept in Israeli “cemeteries of numbers.”
“We came today to demand that the Red Cross retrieve the body of my husband, Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, and the bodies of other martyr detainees who remain buried in the cemeteries of numbers as the Israeli occupation refuses to release them,” she said.
She condemned the Israeli “double standards,” noting that the Israeli occupation negotiated with Palestinian, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators to recover the bodies of its captives from Gaza, while the families of Palestinian detainees have been denied the same right.
Al-Bursh’s wife stressed that Israeli authorities continue to obstruct all efforts to return the bodies of Palestinians who died in custody. She called on international and human rights organizations to take urgent action to retrieve the remains so the deceased can be buried properly.
“It is our right to bring back the bodies of our sons and husbands, to honor them and lay them to rest in their homeland,” she added.
Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, 53, was one of Gaza’s most renowned orthopedic surgeons and headed the orthopedics department at al-Shifa Medical Complex. Israeli forces arrested him from inside al-Awda Hospital in the Tel al-Zaatar area of northern Gaza during the war.
He was later transferred to Israeli prisons, where he died under torture on April 19, 2024. His family received official notification of his death on April 24.
His wife continues to call for international pressure on the Israeli occupation to hand over all withheld bodies and to open an independent investigation into the circumstances of detainees’ deaths.
Munir al-Bursh, Director-General of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, echoed these demands in a post on X, writing: “Return the body of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh.
The white coat was a symbol of life, the stethoscope a symbol of compassion, and Dr. Adnan himself a symbol of unyielding humanity.”
He added: “Israeli occupation took his life under torture and hid his body for months. To this day, it has not been returned to his family or his homeland. A human being’s right to be buried with dignity is the bare minimum of justice, a right that should never be delayed or bargained over.”
“We demand clearly and unequivocally: Return the body of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh immediately. Return all the bodies of detainees held by Israel unjustly and aggressively,” he wrote.
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