AhlulBayt News Agency: Hussein Shujaia, coordinator of the campaign to retrieve the bodies of Palestinian martyrs, stated that the number of martyrs whose bodies are being held by Israeli authorities exceeds 1,500, including 99 identified as prisoners.
Shujaia cited the Israeli newspaper Maariv, which reported that 735 of these bodies have been held since 1967, while the remainder have been detained since the start of the current genocidal war.
He confirmed that approximately 86 of the withheld bodies belonged to members of the Palestinian captive movement, calling it a blatant violation of international humanitarian law—particularly the right to dignity for the deceased and the obligation to return their remains to their families.
Referencing Maariv, Shujaia noted that only 15 bodies from Gaza have been disclosed or discussed in prisoner exchange negotiations, in stark contrast to the return of each Israeli body.
He added that some official U.S. documents suggest any body exchange deal with Israel would follow a “body-for-body” formula.
Shujaia emphasized that Israel continues to withhold the bodies either in so-called “cemeteries of numbers” or in refrigeration units, refusing to disclose the fate or locations of hundreds of the deceased, despite ongoing appeals from human rights organizations.
He stressed that the campaign to retrieve the bodies is continuing its legal and media efforts to pressure Israel to return all remains and to hold it accountable for this long-standing violation of international norms.
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