Khaberni - The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip accused today, Friday, the Israeli army of stealing organs from the bodies of Palestinian martyrs, calling for the formation of an international investigation committee to unveil what was described as "the horrific crime".
Ismail Thawabta, the director of the Government Media Office, told Anadolu Agency, "The occupation delivered through the International Committee of the Red Cross 120 bodies over the past three days," explaining that "most of the bodies arrived in a pathetic condition showing their exposure to summary execution and systematic torture."
Occupation stole the martyrs' organs
On the 10th of this month, the first phase of the ceasefire between "Hamas" and Israel began, according to a plan by US President Donald Trump, under which the movement released 20 Israeli detainees alive and 10 bodies.
In return, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and 1718 arrested from Gaza after October 7, 2023, and handed over the bodies of 120 Palestinian martyrs.
According to Thawabta, some of the martyrs were returned blindfolded, and with their hands and feet tied, while others showed signs of strangulation and ropes around their necks, indicating deliberate killing operations.
He added that "parts of many of the martyrs' bodies are missing, including eyes and corneas and other organs, confirming the occupation's theft of human organs during the detention of the bodies," describing this as a "brutal crime."
Thawabta demanded the international community and human rights organizations to "form an immediate international investigation committee to hold Israel accountable for severe violations against the bodies of the martyrs and the theft of their organs."
Before the ceasefire took effect, Israel was detaining 735 bodies of Palestinian martyrs in what is known as "cemeteries of numbers", according to the "Palestinian National Campaign for the Retrieval of Bodies and Revealing the Fate of the Disappeared" NGO.
Apart from the 735 bodies, the campaign referred to a report published by the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" on July 16, stating that the Israeli army detains about 1500 bodies of Palestinian martyrs from Gaza in the notorious Sidy Timan camp.
"Cemeteries of numbers" are simple graves surrounded by stones without markers, and each grave has a metal plate bearing a number without the name of the deceased, with each number having a special file kept by the Israeli security authorities.
Bodies delivered by Israel chained and burned
For his part, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for an urgent international investigation to reveal the circumstances of the crimes committed by Israel and which appeared on the bodies of Palestinian martyrs handed over to the Ministry of Health in Gaza through the Red Cross.
The monitor stated in a press release: "The appalling condition in which the bodies of Palestinians that were handed over by the Israeli military authorities were found, after being detained during the genocide war on the Gaza Strip, shows clear signs of exposure to numerous crimes of torture, brutal and deliberate maltreatment causing severe suffering."
It added that "a number of them were executed after being detained, in serious violation of the rules of international law."
The monitor emphasized, "These serious findings necessitate the opening of an urgent and independent international investigation to uncover the circumstances of the crimes and hold those responsible accountable, ensuring justice for the victims and reinforcing the principle of no impunity."
It pointed to the lack of effective measures in Gaza to document the identities of victims, and examine the circumstances of their detention, torture, and killing.
The monitor called for immediate permission for the access of legitimate medical missions and independent forensic and DNA experts, and cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross to expedite the process of identifying the martyrs and handing them over to their families.
