Gaza: officials freeze acceptance of remains of 88 martyrs until identities are known

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has been forced to reject a container of 88 unidentified bodies of Palestinians killed in Israel's occupation of Gaza. The ministry said Israel and the Red Cross must provide information such as the names, ages and location of death of the victims, and that they must 'respect the dignity' of the dead. Gazan journalist Mosatem A. Dalloul said it is the 5th time Israel has provided bodies in this way, with a mix of bodies in each bag, some at an advanced stage of decomposition. This makes the bodies very difficult to identify and potentially obscures the real number of deaths.

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The Ministry of Health in Gaza has announced that it has frozen the procedures to accept the remains of dozens of martyrs from the Israeli occupation army until it discloses their identities, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

“With the arrival of a container containing approximately 88 bodies from the Israeli occupation regime,” said the ministry today, “with no data about their names and the locations where they were killed, officials have halted the procedures to accept the container until the completion of full data and information so that their families can identify them.”

The ministry called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to carry out its duties in accordance with the internationally applicable protocol regarding receiving and delivering bodies of the dead, with full data and information about each body in terms of names, ages and the locations from where the bodies were recovered. It also stressed the necessity of receiving the bodies according to humanitarian and international standards and in a manner that preserves the dignity of the dead.

The ICRC received the bodies of the martyrs this morning from the Israeli occupation army which had previously taken them from different areas of the Gaza Strip.

The Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza condemned in the strongest terms Israel’s repeated, deliberate and intentional violation of the dignity of the bodies of the martyrs, in a manner that violates international law. This shows total disdain for international law and the marginalisation of the legal procedures followed in preserving the dignity of the dead.

The GMO said that it holds the Israeli occupation regime and the US administration fully responsible for this inhumane crime. It called on the international community, international and UN organisations, as well as countries around the world to condemn it, and to put pressure Israel to stop the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

READ: Providing cover for genocide, Blinken misled Congress about Israel blocking aid to Gaza

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