A distressing batch of 120 prisoner remains handed back in recent days has sparked fresh outrage in Gaza, with officials reporting widespread mutilation, missing organs, burn injuries and execution-style wounds. According to the local Government Media Office, the remains were delivered through the International Committee of the Red Cross in three groups, yet arrived in a state so degraded that more than 110 remain unidentified.

Gazan health authorities say that many of the bodies were blindfolded and bound, some bore rope-marks around their necks, others had been crushed by tank tracks, and numerous corpses were missing major organs including eyes and corneas. These claims led to immediate accusations of organ removal and secret burials, which the health officials declare to be tangible evidence of a genocidal war against Palestinian detainees.

Medical staff at the southern hospital in Khan Younis described the identification process as “primitive and heartbreaking.” With no names, no registration numbers and almost no documentary support, they said they are relying on body features alone“height, visible injuries, civilian clothing”, to attempt to identify the remains. Only two of the 120 have so far been reliably identified.

Authorities in Gaza have called for an urgent international investigation and immediate transparency on the fate of detainees. They argue that the removal of organs, the concealment of identities and the apparent holding of bodies for extended periods in Israeli sites before their return constitute serious war crimes. Meanwhile, they warn that the full scope of damage to Gaza’s ability to bury its dead with dignity is yet to be seen.