DaysofPal- In a deeply concerning revelation, Hussein Shujaia, coordinator of the campaign to retrieve the bodies of Palestinian martyrs, announced that the Israeli authorities are currently withholding over 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza. These include 99 individuals who had been detained as prisoners.
According to Shujaia, the figure was first reported by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, which noted that 735 of these bodies have been held since 1967, while the rest were taken during the ongoing genocidal war that began in October 2023. Alarmingly, at least 86 of the deceased are confirmed members of the Palestinian prisoner movement.
“This constitutes a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law,” Shujaia stated, “particularly the provisions that guarantee the dignity of the dead and the right of families to receive the remains of their loved ones.”
Only 15 of the detained bodies from Gaza have been discussed in the context of prisoner exchanges, compared to the consistent recovery of Israeli bodies, according to Maariv. Some U.S. documents reportedly propose a “body-for-body” formula in any future exchange deal with Israel.
Shujaia emphasized that many of the detained bodies are kept either in refrigeration units or in the so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” with Israeli authorities refusing to disclose the identities or burial locations of hundreds of the deceased. This has persisted despite mounting appeals from human rights organizations and legal advocacy groups.
He reiterated that the campaign to reclaim the bodies will continue to pursue legal and media efforts to pressure Israel into complying with international norms and returning all remains to their families. The practice of withholding bodies, he argued, is a long-standing and systematic violation that demands accountability.
This disclosure further deepens the humanitarian and legal crisis unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territories and highlights the urgent need for international scrutiny and action.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=68315
