Israeli occupation forces (IOF) seem to verify reports of their soldiers excavating graves in a Gaza cemetery, yet claiming that the action was taken to ensure that "the bodies of Israeli captives were not buried there."

In response to an inquiry from NBC regarding the issue, the IOF claimed that these acts come as part of the mission of "rescuing captives and locating, and repatriating the bodies of individuals held in Gaza."

This horrific confession comes shortly after the Government Media Office in Gaza revealed that the Israeli occupation forces committed a new atrocity, involving razing a cemetery in al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City and desecrating approximately 1,100 graves.

MiddleEastMonitor: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confess to disturbing actions in a Gaza cemetery in Khan Younis reveals damaged gravestones and exposed human remains, raising concerns.

In a statement to NBC, the IDF admits to digging up graves, claiming it was to locate… pic.twitter.com/fKag0lzfTH

— Johann Spischak (@SDGMasterglass) January 19, 2024

According to the official statement, Israeli military vehicles were involved in digging out the graves and callously stealing the bodies of martyrs. Shockingly, the graves were not only desecrated but also violated, demonstrating a complete disregard for the sanctity of the deceased and the sacredness of the cemetery.

Following this heinous act, the Israeli occupation forces reportedly stole around 150 bodies of recently buried martyrs. These bodies were dug out from their graves and transported to an undisclosed location. This has sparked suspicions of yet another crime, specifically the theft of organs from the martyrs.

Not an isolated incident 

On December 27, the Government Media Office in Gaza revealed that the Israeli occupation forces handed over the mutilated bodies of 80 martyrs after stealing their organs, adding that the bodies were unidentified and the occupation refused to specify the names of these martyrs or the places from which they were stolen.

The occupation repeated the crime of stealing organs more than once during its real-time genocidal war, as per the statement.

Meanwhile, it was highlighted that Israeli occupation forces have been involved in a grave crime, specifically the kidnapping of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and the theft of their vital organs.

'Israel' steals bodies of Gazans 

The invading Israeli forces frequently targeted numerous cemeteries in the Gaza Strip, causing extensive damage, desecration of graves, and the theft of bodies, as reported by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor on December 14.

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Based on field documentation, these attacks have affected al-Falujah cemetery in the northern part, Ali bin Marwan, Sheikh Radwan, al-Shuhada, and Sheikh Shaaban cemeteries, along with St. Porphyrius Church cemetery in Gaza City. These assaults have resulted in the destruction of numerous graves, displaying a complete disregard for the sanctity of the deceased.

Frequent Israeli attacks have caused significant damage, resulting in large holes within these cemeteries, impacting dozens of graves, as per Euro-Med Monitor.

Numerous graves have been seriously damaged, and in some cases, the remains of deceased individuals have been scattered or gone missing. Reports received by Euro-Med Monitor indicated that Israeli occupation forces dug up several graves in al-Faluja cemetery, stealing the bodies of Palestinians amid arising concerns about potential organ theft.

The Monitor strongly emphasized that even the deceased have not been spared in the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which commenced on October 7. The organization highlighted "Israel's" systematic violation of the sanctity of the dead and cemeteries, constituting a blatant breach of international humanitarian law principles and the rules of war governing the protection of cemeteries during wars.

Dive deeper

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported, on November 26, that the Israeli army is holding the bodies of numerous Palestinians killed during the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza.

The organization called for an independent international investigation into organ theft. Euro-Med Monitor documented how the Israeli army seized dozens of bodies from Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the Indonesian Hospital, and the vicinity of the designated "safe corridor" for forcibly displaced people.

Concerns about organ theft arose after medical professionals in Gaza found evidence of missing cochleas, corneas, and vital organs, such as livers, kidneys, and hearts, during quick examinations.

"Israel" has a long history of withholding Palestinian bodies and storing them in covert mass graves referred to as "enemy combatant graves." These graves, situated in closed military zones, are marked only with metal plates. The organization cited at least 145 Palestinians' remains in Israeli morgues, approximately 255 in the "Numbers Cemetery" near the Jordanian border, and 75 missing individuals unidentified by "Israel". 

As per a previous Euro-Med Monitor report, Israeli occupation authorities store the bodies of Palestinians in subfreezing temperatures, sometimes below -40 degrees Celsius, to prevent disturbance and potentially conceal organ theft.

The human rights group stressed that "Israel" has "legalized" the retention of dead Palestinians' bodies and the theft of organs, citing a 2019 Israeli Supreme Court ruling allowing temporary burial in the "Numbers Cemetery".

By the end of 2021, Israeli laws were enacted, permitting the army and police to withhold the bodies of Palestinians. Reports have surfaced in recent years suggesting the unlawful use of Palestinian bodies by "Israel", including organ theft for use in Israeli medical school labs.

It is worth noting that Dr. Meira Weiss, an Israeli doctor, disclosed in her book "Over Their Dead Bodies" that organs taken from dead Palestinians were used in medical research at Israeli universities' medical faculties and transplanted into Israeli patients.

In the same context, Yehuda Hess, the former director of "Israel's" Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, admitted to the theft of human tissues, organs, and skin from dead Palestinians without their relatives' knowledge or consent. A 2008 CNN investigation identified "Israel" as a major hub for the illegal global trade in human organs and implicated the entity in the theft of organs from deceased Palestinians for illegal use.

Euro-Med Monitor has verified that "Israel" is the singular entity systematically retaining the bodies of people it has killed, and it stands as one of the world's largest centers for the illicit trade of human organs, justified under the pretext of "security deterrence" and in complete contravention of international charters and agreements.

The human rights group additionally affirmed that the denial of surrendering the bodies of the deceased for proper burial, in line with their religious customs and for their grieving families, could constitute collective punishment. Such an act is explicitly prohibited under Article 50 of the Hague Regulations and Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.