Arrival of 54 bodies and 66 boxes of human organs in Gaza, Al-Bursh condemns 'dismemberment' of bodies

The Director-General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Munir Al-Bursh, condemned the Israeli occupation after 54 bodies arrived at Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday, accompanied by 66 boxes containing human remains and organs, released by the occupation through the International Committee of the Red Cross. Al-Bursh stated on his official accounts that what happened is not a fleeting news item, but a shocking moment that tests the conscience of the world, questioning the scene where Palestinians stand before closed boxes searching inside them for the features of their children in the absence of necessary forensic examination tools.

Al-Bursh added that the delivery of dismembered bodies represents a moral and humanitarian crime and a blatant violation of international conventions that protect human dignity, alive and dead. He pointed out that previous instances witnessed the recovery of bodies bearing signs of torture, considering that the purpose of delivering dismembered bodies is to erase identity, break memory, and humiliate the living, stressing that the ministry demands the inherent right to preserve the dignity of the body and respect international laws.

For its part, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the arrival of the bodies and remains at Al-Shifa Complex, explaining that its medical teams immediately began dealing with them according to approved protocols in cooperation with the competent authorities. The ministry confirmed that work is underway to complete examination and documentation processes in preparation for presenting the bodies to citizens for identification, despite the significant challenges faced by the teams in light of limited resources.

In turn, the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that it facilitated the return of Palestinian remains to Gaza in a unilateral operation coordinated with relevant parties. The committee explained that it provided body bags, vehicles equipped with cooling systems, and trained personnel to ensure dignified handling of the remains, noting that thousands of people are still missing and their families continue to search for answers to end this painful chapter.

This step comes as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in effect since October 10th last year, which includes the exchange of prisoners and bodies through Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediation and American supervision. Before the agreement, the occupation was holding 735 bodies in 'numbers cemeteries,' in addition to reports of approximately 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza being held in the Sde Teiman camp.

It is worth noting that the ceasefire agreement ended a genocidal war that began in October 2023 and lasted two years, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 71,000 Palestinians and the injury of 171,000 others, as well as widespread destruction affecting 90% of the infrastructure, at a time when the United Nations estimated the cost of reconstruction at approximately 70 billion dollars.

What law permits turning a human into dismembered remains? We are not dealing with numbers recorded in reports, but with fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, each with a name, a memory, and a dream.