GAZA CITY — The Ministry of Health in Gaza said it received a further 30 bodies of deceased Palestinians on Thursday, some of which “show signs of abuse, beating, handcuffing, and blindfolding.”
It’s unclear how or when the Palestinians died.
Video shows the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) transporting the bodies, which had been held by Israel during the war, back into Gaza.
It comes after the bodies of 90 deceased Palestinians were transferred in two groups from Israel to the Nasser Medical Complex on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing the total number of returned bodies to 120, according to the health ministry. Many of the deceased remain unidentified, and the ministry has posted photos of the bodies on a special website to enable family members to identify the remains.
The bodies transferred to the hospital on Tuesday arrived at the facility with their hands and legs cuffed, according to Nasser Hospital. CNN is unable to independently verify the claim. The remains were being held in refrigerators in Israel and came with numbers marking them, rather than names, the hospital said.
CNN has reached out to Israeli authorities about the earlier claims of abuse.
Under the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel last week, Israel agreed to transfer the bodies of what it called 360 “Gazan terrorists” into the enclave. It remains unclear if the remains handed over this week include the “terrorists” cited in the agreement. — CNN