Gaza – The Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons has called for the completion of the process to hand over all the bodies of Palestinians and Israelis killed, stressing the need to close this deeply humanitarian file and not link it to any political or military considerations.

In a statement issued today, Tuesday, the Center said it has followed the recent transfer of 45 Palestinian bodies by the Israeli army through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, following the handover of several Israeli bodies from Gaza.

The Center expressed its appreciation for the ICRC’s humanitarian efforts in this sensitive issue, urging it to continue verifying the identities of the bodies through DNA testing, ensuring their dignity, and expediting their return to their families.

It noted that while some of the bodies were delivered intact, others were only partial remains, raising serious concerns about the circumstances of their deaths and the conditions of their detention.

The Center warned that Israel’s failure to provide an official list of names deepens suspicions of enforced disappearance and manipulation of victims’ records. It called for immediate pressure on Israel to disclose the identities of all victims and the circumstances that led to their deaths.

The statement further urged full transparency regarding all transferred bodies, including the publication of all available information as soon as it is received — such as the victims’ names, details of their deaths, and prompt notification of their families, in respect of their right to truth and dignity.

The Center also demanded that Israel immediately release all withheld Palestinian bodies from its morgues and “cemeteries of numbers” and reveal the fate of all Palestinians forcibly disappeared since the start of the assault on Gaza.

Finally, the Center renewed its call on the international community — particularly the ICRC and the United Nations — to exert pressure on Israel to allow Palestinian forensic and rescue teams to access the necessary equipment and technical tools to recover bodies from under the rubble in Gaza, and to facilitate search and identification efforts.

It concluded by affirming that the continued withholding of bodies and denying families the right to bury their loved ones constitutes a grave humanitarian crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
The right of every human being to a dignified burial, it said, is timeless — and truth and accountability are essential components of justice for the victims and their families.