More than 1,500 Palestinians from Gaza remain buried in secrecy, their bodies withheld by Israeli authorities in defiance of international humanitarian law. According to campaign coordinator Hussein Shuja’iya, among them are nearly one hundred identified prisoners, their remains kept in so-called “cemeteries of numbers” or stored in refrigerated units, an act families describe as a deliberate attempt to erase both memory and dignity.

The practice, which dates back decades, has continued throughout the genocidal war on Gaza. Shuja’iya noted that Israel has long used the remains of Palestinians as political leverage, with exchanges reportedly following a “body for body” principle. Despite repeated appeals, the Israeli occupation has refused to disclose the locations or conditions of hundreds of bodies, deepening the anguish of families still searching for closure.

Human rights advocates say the continued detention of the dead reflects the same disregard for human life that defines Israel’s broader war policy. For many in Gaza, the demand is not just for justice, but for the simple right to bury their loved ones in peace, a right denied to them even in death.