Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Israel has once again been accused of stealing the organs, and eyes of Palestinian bodies in their possession. The newest claims by health officials in Gaza have mirrored past confessions by Israeli forensic experts in Tel Aviv.
A high-level health official in Gaza has reported that a specialized committee is working to identify the bodies of 90 Palestinians returned by Israel as part of a recent ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement. The remains, transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, have sparked accusations of war crimes, including torture, field executions, and organ theft, by Gaza officials.
Allegations of Organ Theft
The Gaza Government Media Office issued a formal accusation on Friday, alleging the Israeli military had stolen organs from the corpses. Ismail Thawabteh, the office's director, told Anadolu Agency that the occupation had "desecrated" the bodies.
"Parts of many martyrs' bodies are missing, including eyes, corneas, and other organs," Thawabteh said, calling it a "heinous crime" and demanding an international investigation.
Dr. Munir al-Barsh elaborated on this, claiming that many bodies had been "emptied of vital organs (heart, liver, kidneys, cornea) and stuffed with white cotton to hide the extraction."
This is not the first time such accusations have surfaced.
The L. Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine, commonly known as the "Abu Kabir Forensic Institute", is in Tel Aviv.
Dr. Yehuda Hiss served as the chief pathologist and director of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute from 1988 until his removal from administration in 2004, though he remained chief pathologist until 2012.
Dr. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, an American medical anthropologist, conducted an interview with Yehuda Hiss in 2000. Hiss admitted that the institute was taking organs and tissues "informally" and without permission. This included the harvesting of corneas, heart valves, bones, and skin.
In 2009, Swedish journalist Donald Boström, writing in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, found that young Palestinian men killed by the Israeli army during the First Intifada in the late 1980s and early 1990s were subject to Israeli organ harvesting practices.
In December 2009, the Israeli military (IDF) admitted that the Abu Kabir Institute had, during the 1990s, "harvested" tissues, including corneas, skin, and bones, from bodies, including those of Palestinians, without family consent.
Israeli law mandates an autopsy for anyone who dies in "unnatural" circumstances or "while in custody", including prisoners. This autopsy is performed exclusively at the Abu Kabir Institute.
The identification process is fraught with challenges. Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, Director-General of Hospitals in Gaza, stated that while some bodies from the initial batch were recognizable, many others are in an advanced state of decomposition, making identification extremely difficult.
The committee has received no information to aid their work, such as names or circumstances of death. "What we received are bodies carrying only symbols and numbers," one committee member said.
Adding to the difficulty, Gaza's health system, decimated by the war that began in October 2023, lacks specialized equipment, such as DNA analysis technology, necessary for forensic identification.
To assist families, photos of the victims' faces, along with distinctive marks and personal belongings, have been published online.
Signs of Torture and Mistreatment
The condition of the returned remains has led to severe allegations from local officials. Footage captured by an independent journalist for the BBC at the Nasser Hospital morgue showed one body with a blindfold, while another appeared to have ligature marks around the wrists and ankles.
Sameh Hammad, a member of the identification committee, described the findings as "alarming."
"The bodies we received bear clear signs of mutilation," Hammad stated. "We observed this ourselves: there are bound hands and feet, clear evidence of torture, and signs indicating execution."
Dr. Munir al-Barsh, Director-General of Hospitals, corroborated these claims, stating that the remains showed "atrocious burns" and signs of being bound "like animals."
"We found signs around the necks of some bodies—a rope tied around one of them—which has been documented and photographed," al-Barsh added. "These bodies were not buried; they were detained in the occupation's refrigerators for many months... They did not die a natural death; they were executed after being tied up."
The Israeli government has previously denied accusations of systematic mistreatment and torture of detainees, asserting that its forces operate in accordance with international law.
The Exchange Agreement and the Missing
The return of the bodies is part of the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Under the deal, Israel agreed to hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli hostage recovered.
So far, the Israeli military has announced the recovery of the remains of six Israeli hostages from Gaza, along with the body of a Nepalese national and one other individual not on the hostage list. Israel has called on Hamas to "make all necessary efforts" to recover the bodies of 21 deceased hostages whose fate remains unknown.
This exchange follows a previous deal where Hamas released its final group of 20 living hostages. In return, Israel released 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees arrested in Gaza after October 8, 2023.
The 90 bodies were delivered by Israeli authorities to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in two batches of 45. The ICRC stated its teams were "taking measures to ensure the bodies are handled with respect," providing body bags and refrigerated vehicles, but emphasized that "local health and forensic authorities are responsible for identifying the bodies."
A Desperate Search
For families of the missing, the arrival of the unidentified bodies represents an agonizing wait. Among those at Nasser Hospital was Rasmia Qadih, searching for her 36-year-old son, Fadi, who has been missing since October 7, 2023.
"I don't know if he was arrested or martyred. I've contacted everyone, and no one has told me anything," she said. "Whenever a prisoner or detainee is released, I ask them: 'Did you see Fadi?'"
Qadih described the agonizing uncertainty. "I just want to know if my son is among them... If he's not found among these martyrs, it will be a great shock."
She remains hopeful she can identify him. "My son's leg is amputated; he has vitiligo... his hair is white. I will know him."
A Policy of Control: "Cemeteries of Numbers"
The number of Palestinian bodies still held by Israel remains unclear. The National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies, a Palestinian NGO, reported last week that Israel holds the remains of at least 735 people, including 99 from Gaza, in morgues or "cemeteries of numbers."
Since 1967, Israel has maintained a policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians killed by its forces. In the 1970s, it established "cemeteries of numbers"—secret burial sites where Palestinians are interred anonymously, marked only by a metal plaque bearing a number.
Researchers and human rights organizations, such as Al-Haq, argue this policy is a tool of collective punishment and a form of "control over the Palestinian body, dead or alive."
These practices, including the withholding of remains and alleged mutilation, constitute severe violations of international law. Specifically, they breach Article 17 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates respect for the dead, and are classified as war crimes under the Rome Statute (Article 8), which prohibits "mutilating dead bodies" and "outrages upon personal dignity."
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.