GAZA CITY, Palestine

Gaza’s authorities returned a container carrying the bodies of 88 Palestinians to Israel on Wednesday due to a lack of data about their identities. 

Ismail al-Thawabteh, who heads Gaza’s government media office, said the bodies were delivered by Israel in a container in southern Gaza “without any coordination with Palestinian or international parties.”

“They were delivered in an arrogant and humiliating manner that disrespects the dignity of the martyrs. This is an inhumane act,” he told Anadolu.

“The government decided to return the bodies to the Israeli side until information and documentation related to them is provided,” he added.

Thawabteh denounced the Israeli practice as “a heinous crime that violates international law and humanitarian law.”

“This was not the first time the Israeli side has committed such inhumane acts against the martyrs,” he said, calling on international organizations, including the Red Cross, to "take responsibility for what is happening.”
He also renewed his call for countries of the world “to pressure Israel to stop its genocidal crimes against the Palestinians."

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,500 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 96,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala