NGO: Palestinian Bodies Returned by Israel Show Signs of Torture, One Still Had Saline Drip

Gaza (QNN)- Rami Abdu, head of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, revealed alarming findings after examining Palestinian bodies recently returned by Israel.

“All bodies still retain their features and have not decomposed,” Abdu said. “This means they were kept in refrigerators at freezing temperatures.”

He added that several bodies appeared to have been buried and later exhumed. “One martyr still had a saline drip attached to his hand, showing that medical efforts were made before his death,” Abdu said.

According to Abdu, many of the victims had their hands and feet bound with plastic zip ties. Some were elderly. In many cases, the eyes were blindfolded and limbs restrained before death. Burn marks on the skin suggest the fabric melted during restraint.

“These restraint methods are similar to what Palestinian workers faced after the October event,” Abdu said.

The Ministry of Health said it received 30 bodies through the International Committee of the Red Cross. This brings the total to 120 since the first phase of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal began on October 10, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, with US supervision.

The Government Media Office said many of the returned bodies are unidentified and carry marks of “execution and systematic torture.” The office stated that Israel “crushed bodies under tank tracks” and “left rope and hanging marks on several.” It called for an urgent independent international investigation.

The Palestinian National Campaign to Recover Martyrs’ Bodies said Israel still holds 735 Palestinian bodies, including 67 children. Another 256 are buried in so-called “numbered graves.”

A Haaretz report in July revealed that Israeli forces keep about 1,500 bodies from Gaza inside the Sde Teyman military camp.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which began in October 2023, has killed around 70,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 170,000, mostly women and children. The siege and bombardment have also triggered a famine that continues to claim hundreds of lives.