Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street

Israeli occupation desecrates Gaza martyrs bodies, steals vital organs

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 27 Dec 2023 00:34
  • 56 Shares
6 Min Read

Israeli occupation forces commit yet another heinous crime involving the seizure of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and the theft of their vital organs.

  • x
  • IOF desecrate Gaza martyrs' bodies; steal vital organs
    A Palestinian father carries the body of his child killed in overnight Israeli shelling during a funeral in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 10, 2023. (AFP)

In a heart-wrenching statement, 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.

It was highlighted that the 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.

The statement further pointed out that "Israel" had previously engaged in desecrating graves in Jabalia, underscoring that "Israel" continues to retain possession of numerous martyrs' bodies from the Gaza Strip.

🚨🇮🇱 Israeli soldiers dig up GRAVES and ASSAULT the DEAD BODIES of Palestinians!
pic.twitter.com/JvX1qBp86u

— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) December 22, 2023

The statement strongly emphasized that this heinous crime is just one in a series of atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation army, particularly following the green light given by the United States to kill civilians, including children and women.

The office, in its statement, called for the formation of a completely independent international investigation committee to probe the Israeli army's seizure of martyrs' bodies and the theft of their vital organs.

It also expressed deep shock at international organizations' "eerie silence", most notably the International Red Cross operating in the Gaza Strip. The statement also criticized these organizations for their feeble, secondary, and confused positions, emphasizing that they fall far short of the humanitarian and ethical standpoint required in the face of such heinous crimes committed by "Israel".

'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.

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.

Related News

Netanyahu's statements confirm intentional obstruction of truce: Hamas

Gaza Massacres: Dozens killed as IOF strike civilians, aid lines

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 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.

Read more: Gaza death toll surpasses 20,000; over two-third children and women

  • genocide in Gaza
  • Palestinian bodies
  • Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Palestine
  • organ trafficking
  • Gaza
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS