As a fragile ceasefire holds between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group has handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives, including members of the Bibas family, killed in an Israeli airstrike. Meanwhile, Israel continues its long-standing policy of withholding Palestinian bodies, with hundreds buried in secret military cemeteries or kept in morgues. Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, stated that the captives were alive before being killed by Israeli airstrikes in November 2023. A video released earlier showed Yarden Bibas, the husband and father of three of the victims, blaming Israeli forces for their deaths and pleading for their bodies to be returned for burial. The bodies are scheduled for release under international supervision, but Israel remains firm in its policy of retaining Palestinian remains as leverage in negotiations.
Israel’s practice of withholding Palestinian bodies has been widely criticized by human rights organizations. According to the National Campaign for Retrieval of the Bodies, Israel currently holds the remains of 665 Palestinians, including individuals killed as far back as the 1960s. The Jerusalem Legal Aid Center reports that 253 Arab and Palestinian war victims remain buried in “cemeteries for enemy combatants”—mass graves in restricted military zones. Additionally, 51 Palestinian bodies have been held since 2016 as bargaining chips for a potential prisoner swap. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2474 mandates the identification and return of missing persons and deceased individuals, particularly children, yet Israel has continued to defy these obligations.
During its military operations in Gaza, the Israeli army has also seized bodies from medical facilities, including Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the Indonesian Hospital. Reports from Euro-Med Monitor reveal that Israeli forces exhumed and confiscated bodies from a mass grave in Al-Shifa’s courtyard. This systematic withholding of Palestinian bodies raises further concerns about Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law and the dignity of war victims and their families.
