Hamas calls for pressure on Israel to release martyrs’ bodies held in “numbered graves”

Hamas said on Tuesday evening that Israel continues to withhold the bodies of hundreds of Palestinian martyrs and is preventing the recovery of thousands of missing people in the Gaza Strip, describing the situation as a “brutal crime” carried out amid international silence.

In a statement, the movement said Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of Palestinians seized during the genocide in Gaza, as well as others kept for decades in so-called “numbered graves”. Hamas said Israel refuses to return the bodies to their families or disclose information about some of them.

The movement added that families in Gaza are still suffering as nearly 10,000 martyrs remain missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings following two years of Israeli bombardment.

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Hamas said the situation has been worsened by a severe shortage of equipment and heavy machinery, which it said Israel continues to prevent from entering the Strip, obstructing efforts to recover bodies.

The movement criticised what it described as strong international attention on the recovery of the bodies of Israeli soldiers while “ignoring the tragedy” of thousands of Palestinian families.

Hamas called for immediate international pressure on Israel to release the bodies it is holding, reopen the Rafah crossing, and allow the entry of heavy equipment needed to retrieve those still buried under the rubble and provide proper burials.

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