Arrival of 54 bodies and 66 boxes of remains of Gaza martyrs at Al-Shifa Complex

The Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Munir Al-Barsh, revealed new chapters of the violation of the dignity of Palestinian martyrs, confirming the arrival of 54 bodies of martyrs at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, accompanied by 66 boxes containing human remains and organs, which were released through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Al-Barsh questioned in his statements the law that permits returning a human being in pieces, describing the scene as shocking and testing the conscience of the world, as medical teams stand before closed boxes searching inside them for the features of the martyrs without possessing the necessary examination tools or the minimum medical and forensic capabilities to identify and document them in a manner befitting human dignity.

The Director-General of Health affirmed that these are not just numbers in reports, but rather fathers, mothers, and children, each with a name and a memory, emphasizing that handing over bodies in boxes and dismembered represents a moral crime and a blatant violation of international conventions established to protect human dignity, alive and dead.

Al-Barsh pointed out that previous instances witnessed the retrieval of bodies bearing traces of mutilation and torture, considering that retrieving bodies today in dismembered form suggests that the goal is to erase identity, break memory, and humiliate the living, demanding a self-evident right for the human body to be preserved, its dignity protected, and international laws respected.

For its part, the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed in an official statement the arrival of the 54 bodies and the 66 boxes containing the remains at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, after the Israeli occupation authorities released them and transferred them via the Red Cross organization.

To be returned as remains, and for their bodies to be delivered in boxes, is not merely a procedural violation, but a moral and humanitarian crime, and a blatant violation of all international laws and conventions.