One of the numerous challenges jeopardizing an already fragile Gaza ceasefire is the contentious issue of exchanging the deceased.
Under the agreement, Hamas is expected to return the bodies of 28 hostages to Israel in return for the remains of 360 alleged Gazan fighters.
Israel has accused Hamas of stalling and intentionally retaining some bodies to maintain leverage, while Hamas attributes the delays to the extensive damage caused by Israeli military actions.
Medical professionals in Gaza have reported that some Palestinian bodies received from Israel have been marked with numbers instead of names, and many show signs of torture, some with bound hands.
The practice of withholding bodies as a bargaining tool persists on both sides of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, a cruel tactic not limited to the recent Gaza hostilities.
Human rights organizations claim that Israel has stored the bodies of hundreds of alleged Palestinian militants for years, often burying them in what is known as a “cemetery of numbers” — a practice viewed by Palestinians as a form of collective punishment. CBC’s Margaret Evans investigates the situation for The National, uncovering the reasons behind this practice and meeting individuals advocating for change.
‘Cemeteries of numbers’
According to human rights groups, Israel has accumulated the bodies of numerous alleged Palestinian militants over the years, storing them as potential bargaining chips in undisclosed graveyards referred to as “cemeteries of numbers.”
“We have documented evidence indicating the presence of 735 missing bodies in the cemetery of numbers and in refrigerated storage in Israeli mortuaries,” stated Hussein Shejaeya, who heads a campaign for their repatriation at the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre.
These burial grounds, dubbed cemeteries of numbers, are identified solely by wooden or metal markers bearing numerical identifiers.
Shejaeya disclosed that Israel had retained the bodies of 405 Palestinians from Israel, Gaza, and the Occupied Territories before the Hamas assaults on Oct. 7, 2023, and has added at least 330 more since then.
Gazans are not included in the post-Oct. 7 total. Reports from Israeli media suggest that Israel currently holds the remains of up to 1,500 Gazans in mortuaries across the country.
“Once the Israeli military is permitted by the court to retain a body, it is interred,” Shejaeya explained.