Israel on Wednesday returned the bodies of 88 Palestinians killed in its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which the territory’s health ministry refused to bury before Israel revealed details of who they were and where it killed them.
The bodies were brought to Gaza in a container loaded onto a truck through an Israeli-controlled crossing, but according to Palestinian officials, there was no information on the names or ages of the victims or the locations where they died.
Health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis refused to receive and bury them, prompting the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to request details from Israel.
“The Ministry of Health has stopped the process of retrieving the container (in which the bodies are located) until the completion of complete data and information about these bodies so that their relatives can identify them,” the ministry said.
The head of the Gaza government’s media office said health ministry officials told the truck driver to return the bodies of the dead Palestinians to the Israeli crossing from which he arrived. The truck then left the hospital.
“They must act in accordance with international humanitarian law and in a way that preserves the dignity of the martyrs and their families,” Ismail Al-Thawabta told Reuters.
The Red Cross (ICRC) said it was not involved in the transfer process.
“We reiterate that all families have the right to receive news of their loved ones and to bury them with respect and in accordance with their traditions,” said a statement issued by the ICRC.
Under international humanitarian law, those who die during armed conflict must be treated with dignity and properly treated. The law requires them to be searched, collected and evacuated, which helps ensure that people do not disappear, the ICRC statement added, Klix.ba writes.
