[News] Hamas accuses Netanyahu of obstructing handover of captive bodies

[Anti-Imperialist News]

News <https://english.palinfo.com/category/news/>


  Hamas accuses Netanyahu of obstructing handover of captive bodies

Friday 17-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, accused Israeli Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing the handover of Israeli 
captives’ bodies and blocking humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, 
calling it part of his government’s “fascist policy of collective 
punishment and political manipulation of humanitarian files.”

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that Netanyahu’s threats to delay 
the reopening of the Rafah crossing and restrict aid deliveries “expose 
his government’s vindictive agenda toward Gaza’s civilians.”

The Movement explained that returning the bodies of Israeli captives 
would “take some time,” as several were buried in tunnels destroyed by 
Israeli airstrikes and others remain under the rubble of demolished 
buildings. Hamas held Israel responsible for the destruction that has 
hindered recovery efforts.

Hamas noted that the bodies it was able to retrieve were immediately 
transferred, while the rest require specialized equipment that Israel 
has blocked from entering the enclave. Hamas stressed its commitment to 
the ceasefire agreement and its intention to hand over all remaining 
bodies, blaming Netanyahu’s government for obstructing humanitarian and 
technical facilitation.

US president Donald Trump announced on October 9 that Israel and Hamas 
had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange plan 
following indirect negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, with Türkiye, Egypt, 
and Qatar participating under US supervision.

According to the agreement, Hamas would return the bodies of 28 Israeli 
captives in exchange for Israel’s release of the bodies of Palestinians 
killed during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces, backed by the US and European 
countries, have waged a genocidal war on Gaza marked by mass killings, 
starvation, destruction, displacement, and arbitrary arrests, ignoring 
international appeals and rulings from the International Court of Justice.

The assault has left over 238,000 Palestinians martyred or wounded, 
mostly women and children, with more than 11,000 missing and hundreds of 
thousands displaced amid a famine that has claimed numerous lives, 
especially among children. Much of Gaza’s urban landscape has been 
obliterated.

Meanwhile, the brutality of Israeli crimes continues to unfold as dozens 
of Palestinian bodies returned by the Israeli occupation forces revealed 
shocking evidence of field executions, torture, and abuse.

According to Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, director general of Gaza’s hospitals, 
the Ministry of Health has received 120 bodies from Israel in three 
batches, many of them unidentified. Forensic examinations revealed signs 
of extreme torture, burns, close-range gunshots, and even crushed limbs 
consistent with tank tracks. Many of the bodies were bound with plastic 
restraints or chains.

Zaqout said only six victims have been identified so far due to the lack 
of advanced DNA testing equipment, while Israel has refused to share 
genetic data it collected, except for three cases.

The limited capacity of morgue facilities means that bodies can be 
preserved for only about a week, forcing authorities to proceed with 
urgent burials. The Ministry has created an online database displaying 
victims’ photos and personal items to help families identify their loved 
ones.

Health Ministry director Munir al-Bursh described the scenes as 
“unprecedented horror,” noting that many of the bodies “were 
blindfolded, bound like animals, and burned, clear evidence of execution 
and torture after months of captivity.”

A forensic expert quoted by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirmed 
the findings, documenting cases of execution by hanging, close-range 
shooting, and severe mutilation.

Attorney Samir al-Mana’ama of Al-Mizan Center for Human Rights said 
these practices constitute another episode of the ongoing genocide in 
Gaza. He emphasized that Israel’s systematic concealment of detainees’ 
fates and retention of bodies in “cemeteries of numbers” represent grave 
breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, amounting to war crimes and 
crimes against humanity.

Euro-Med’s field and forensic teams described the returned bodies as 
“conclusive evidence of deliberate torture and extrajudicial executions.”

The organization urged the immediate entry of independent medical and 
human rights missions to document and preserve the evidence before it 
deteriorates. It also called on the International Criminal Court to 
expand its investigation into Israel’s crimes to include these acts of 
execution, torture, and enforced disappearance.

The report warned that the continued uncertainty surrounding thousands 
of missing persons and the withholding of hundreds of bodies deepen an 
unprecedented humanitarian and legal crisis and challenge the 
international community’s commitment to justice, truth, and accountability.

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