DaysofPal- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continue to withhold the bodies of 776 documented Palestinian victims in so-called numbered graves and morgues, according to the National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of Martyrs and Determine the Fate of the Missing.
In a statement released Tuesday, the campaign said the bodies being withheld include 96 Palestinians from the Captive Movement, 77 children under the age of 18, and 10 women. It described the practice as the continued holding of bodies as “hostages.”
The statement followed the Israeli announcement that it had recovered the final body of an Israeli captive from the Gaza Strip. The campaign said the announcement confirms that no Israeli captives, living or deceased, remain in Gaza.
Despite this, the campaign said Israeli forces continue to withhold the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza amid Israeli genocidal war, adding that the exact number of bodies held and the conditions under which they are kept remain unclear.
It said the policy represents a grave and systematic violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee dignity for both detainees and the deceased.
The campaign also accused the Israeli forces of exhuming and violating the remains of more than 250 Palestinians from cemeteries in Gaza during recent military operations. It said the actions were carried out without legal or humanitarian justification and constitute war crimes that require international accountability.
“Justice and humanity cannot be applied selectively,” the campaign said, emphasizing that human rights must be upheld universally and without discrimination.
It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, the return of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs to their families, and an end to the policy of withholding bodies.
The campaign noted that the Israeli Supreme Court had previously justified the practice by citing the presence of Israeli captives in Gaza, a rationale it said is no longer valid.
It also urged international bodies, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to gain access to detention and burial sites to verify conditions.
The campaign called for an independent international investigation into the exhumation of graves and violations of the sanctity of the dead in Gaza and demanded that Israeli forces disclose full information regarding withheld bodies, including cases classified as “unidentified.”
Warning of the consequences of continued inaction, the campaign said international silence enables impunity and weakens the global justice system.
“Human dignity,” the statement concluded, “whether in life or in death, cannot be subject to bargaining.”
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=71703
