Occupation authorities withhold 552 bodies in cemeteries and refrigerators, says Prisoners’ Institutions

GAZA: The Prisoners' Institutions and the National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of Martyrs reported today that the Israeli occupation authorities continue to detain 552 bodies, including 256 in the numbered cemeteries, in addition to hundreds from the Gaza Strip. This came in a joint statement issued by the Palestine Prisoners Society (PPS), the Detainees and Ex-detainees Commission, the Damir Foundation for Human Rights, and the National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of Martyrs on the occasion of the National Day for Recovering Bodies, which falls on August 27 of each year. The institutions indicated that "the number of bodies being held has reached 552 people in the numbered cemeteries and refrigerators, including 256 in the numbered cemeteries, including 296 since the return of the detention policy in 2015." They pointed out that among the detained bodies are 9 women, 32 prisoners, 55 children under the age of 18, 5 people from the 1948 territories, and six people from Palestinian refugees in Lebanon ." The statement said, "Since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7, the occupation has escalated the detention of bodies, as it is holding 149 bodies, and this number constitutes more than half of the people detained since 2015, noting that this data does not include the martyrs detained from the Gaza Strip." He added, "The number of people detained from Gaza by the occupation is estimated at hundreds, but there is no official statement from the occupation about the actual number of bodies of martyrs from Gaza to date." Meanwhile, dozens of civilians and families whose bodies are being held by the Israeli occupation participated in a protest in the governorates of Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus. today, demanding the Israeli occupation authorities to hand over the withheld bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA