On Saturday, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas returned the bodies of two Israeli prisoners of war, while the occupation returned the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip.
The ARAB 48 news website reported that the Islamic resistance movement Hamas handed over the bodies of two recovered Israeli prisoners of war to the Red Cross on Saturday night.
Civil defense crews continue to search for the bodies of Palestinian civilians buried under the rubble; it is estimated that the bodies of at least 10,000 citizens remain missing under the rubble.
Medical sources reported that hospitals in Gaza received the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday afternoon, after the occupation authorities released them to the Red Cross.
The same sources added that several of the bodies received from the occupation have shown evidence of torture and disfigurement, and some had missing organs.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, “autopsy examinations revealed that some of the martyrs were executed at close range, while others were left to bleed to death.”
The Ministry added that “occupation forces looted organs from the martyrs’ bodies, such as the cornea, kidney, and liver,” and called for “the formation of an independent UN committee.”
The ARAB 48 news website quoted the Government Media Office in Gaza who accused the Israeli occupation of stealing organs from the bodies of Palestinians, calling for an international investigation into what it called a “horrific crime.”
The Anadolu Agency quoted Ismail Thawabteh, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, who said that “most of the bodies arrived in a deplorable condition, showing that their owners were subjected to field execution and systematic torture.”
Thawabteh added that “some of the martyrs were returned blindfolded and with their hands and feet tied, while others bore signs of strangulation and ropes around their necks.”
He reported that “the occupation, through the International Committee of the Red Cross, handed over 120 bodies over the past three days,” adding that “body parts of many of the martyrs are missing, including eyes, corneas, and other organs, confirming that the occupation is stealing human organs while detaining the bodies.”
Quds Press reported that the body of the slain detainee, Mahmoud Ismail Shabat, 34, was returned to his family in Gaza after being held for two years by occupation authorities.
The same source said that the body showed signs of severe abuse, with his hands and feet bound, bullet wounds, and injuries around his neck.
