Israel holding bodies of 198 Palestinians killed in 2024: NGO

RAMALLAH, Palestine

A Palestinian advocacy group reported Tuesday that the Israeli military is withholding the bodies of 198 Palestinians killed in 2024.

The National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs' Bodies, a non-governmental organization, said, “Israeli occupation authorities are holding the bodies of 198 documented martyrs in 2024.”

The group noted that the figure constitutes one-third of the 641 bodies held in Israel’s “Cemeteries of Numbers” and morgues, as documented by the campaign.​​​​​​​

The so-called “Cemeteries of Numbers” are unmarked graves bordered with stones, each bearing a metal plate with a number instead of the deceased’s name. The numbers correspond to individual files kept by Israeli security authorities

In September 2019, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that military commanders could temporarily withhold Palestinian bodies killed by Israeli forces for potential use as “bargaining chips” in future negotiations.

The campaign also said its data excludes withheld bodies from the Gaza Strip due to a lack of accurate information, but it documented the return of 325 bodies from Gaza by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio