Israel and Hamas are facing challenges in upholding a fragile Gaza ceasefire, with the issue of exchanging deceased individuals becoming a grim focal point. The agreement involves Hamas handing over the bodies of 28 hostages to Israel in return for the remains of 360 alleged Gazan combatants. Israel accuses Hamas of stalling and withholding some bodies to maintain leverage, while Hamas attributes delays to the extensive damage caused by Israeli military actions.
Doctors in Gaza have reported receiving some Palestinian bodies from Israel with numbers instead of names, many showing signs of torture, including bound hands. This practice of withholding deceased individuals persists on both sides of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, serving as a cruel bargaining strategy not exclusive to the latest Gaza hostilities.
Human rights organizations reveal that Israel has amassed the bodies of hundreds of alleged Palestinian militants over the years, storing them in hidden burial grounds known as “cemeteries of numbers.” Palestinians refer to these sites as such because the graves are marked solely with numerical identifiers.
According to Hussein Shejaeya, leading a campaign for the return of these bodies, Israel held 405 Palestinian bodies before the 2023 Hamas attacks and has since added at least 330 more. Reports suggest that Israel may be holding the remains of up to 1,500 Gazans in various morgues across the country.
Israel justifies this practice as a necessary strategy given its challenging security environment. Avi Kalo, a former head of an Israeli military intelligence unit, emphasizes the importance of treating fallen enemies as assets, citing past exchanges like the 1998 return of Hezbollah fighters’ remains from Lebanon.
Palestinians living under occupation denounce this practice as a form of oppression and collective punishment. Families, like that of 14-year-old Wadee Shadi Elayan, struggle to retrieve the bodies of their deceased loved ones, facing legal hurdles and emotional turmoil. The holding of bodies, particularly in “cemeteries of numbers,” is seen as a means of exerting control and perpetuating suffering among the occupied population.
