14 more unidentified Palestinian bodies handed over by Israel buried in Gaza

Civil defense teams on Sunday (Nov. 23) buried 14 more unidentified Palestinian bodies in a cemetery in Deir al-Balah, Anadolu reports.

The bodies were handed over by Israel under the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the Gaza Strip.

At least 330 Palestinian bodies have so far been returned by Israel since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10.

Last week, Palestinian authorities said that many of the bodies handed over by Israel showed signs of abuse, including beatings, bound hands, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement, and were returned without names.

Families have been trying to identify the remains of their relatives by physical markings or clothing, as forensic facilities in Gaza remain out of service due to a years-long Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

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Before the ceasefire, Israel held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” according to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies.

The Israeli daily Haaretz also reported that the army has been holding about 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the notorious Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 victims in Gaza, primarily women and children, injured over 170,800, and reduced the enclave to rubble.

READ: 342 Gazans killed in Israeli violations since ceasefire: Authorities