On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza became the somber stage for a mass funeral that drew hundreds of mourners. They gathered to pay their respects to 54 unidentified Palestinians whose bodies had been returned by Israel. The ceremony, reported by the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) and covered by multiple international outlets including ABC News and Anadolu, was not just an act of collective grief—it was a moment laden with allegations of abuse, accusations of systematic torture, and mounting calls for international accountability.
The return of these bodies is part of a broader, highly contentious arrangement: President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which stipulates that for every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel must return the remains of 15 deceased Gazans. The plan, as reported by ABC News and reinforced by Middle East Eye, further promises the eventual release of 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after October 7, 2023—including all women and children detained in that context. The ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10, 2025, also includes the exchange of prisoners and remains between Israel and Palestinian authorities.
Since the ceasefire’s implementation, Gaza’s Health Ministry has received 165 bodies through the Red Cross, a figure confirmed by both the Gaza government media office and international agencies. The Red Cross itself facilitated the transfer of 15 Palestinian bodies just before the funeral, as part of the ongoing deal. According to Anadolu, hundreds of Palestinians gathered to mourn, though many families were unable to identify their loved ones due to the severe condition of the remains—faces blurred, features mutilated, and bodies marked by extensive trauma.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza Government Media Office, described the scene in stark terms at a press conference. "Signs of torture, including hanging marks, ropes around necks, and close-range gunshot wounds, were visible on the bodies," he said, as reported by Anadolu. Medical teams also documented evidence of hand- and foot-binding with plastic restraints, blindfolds, burns, fractures, and even injuries consistent with being run over by tank treads. "These acts constitute conclusive evidence of field executions," Al-Thawabta asserted, calling on the international community and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and hold Israel and its supporters accountable.
The origins of the returned bodies have also come under scrutiny. According to Middle East Eye and statements by Muneer al-Boursh, director general of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, documents found inside the body bags revealed that many of the remains came from the Sde Teiman detention centre—an infamous facility established after the escalation of violence in October 2023. The centre has been the focus of multiple investigations by media outlets and human rights groups, including Middle East Eye, CNN, and the New York Times, all of which have documented widespread abuse: torture, rape, and killings.
Forensic examinations of the 195 Palestinian remains released so far have revealed a pattern of systematic torture, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and supported by testimony from medical staff at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The injuries included crushings by vehicles, strangulation, burns, severe wounds, lacerations, and, in some cases, the absence of vital organs. Boursh noted that some bodies were returned without organs, raising fears of organ theft—a practice Israel admitted to in 2009 but insists ended decades ago. "We do not rule out the possibility that some bodies had their organs stolen, but we're waiting to be cautious until it is revealed directly," Boursh told Al Jazeera.
Palestinian families, desperate for closure, have struggled to identify the returned bodies. As Huda Hammad, a woman searching for her niece’s son, told Anadolu, "We could not [identify him] as there were no features left." Many bodies arrived without names or documents, forcing families to rely on fragments of clothing or whatever features remained. DNA testing, while possible, is severely limited by Gaza’s crippled laboratories—a consequence of years of blockade and the destruction of critical infrastructure.
Israel, for its part, has strongly denied all allegations of torture and abuse. In a statement to ABC News, the Israeli military said, "The IDF did not tie any bodies prior to their release to the Strip," insisting that they operate "strictly in accordance with international law." The Israeli military also confirmed the return of two Israeli hostages’ bodies by Hamas on October 21, 2025, and stated that 13 Israeli bodies remain in the Gaza Strip. The exchange of remains is meant to be reciprocal, with both sides holding out for the return of their loved ones.
The Sde Teiman detention centre, where many of the returned bodies originated, has become emblematic of the broader crisis facing Palestinian detainees. Since October 7, 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces, often held without charge or evidence of wrongdoing. As Middle East Eye and other rights groups have reported, abuses in Israeli prisons have sharply escalated. B'Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, has referred to these facilities as "torture camps."
Palestinian detainees face not only physical abuse but also medical neglect and deliberate deprivation. On October 21, 2025, 69-year-old Kamel Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ajrami, a father of six, died at Soroka Hospital after being held in Naqab Prison, becoming the 80th Palestinian to die in Israeli custody since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS). On the same day, the PPS reported the deteriorating health of another prisoner, Azmi Nader Abu Hlayel, who has suffered from untreated scabies and skin ulcers for over six months. He was reportedly assaulted by prison staff after requesting medical treatment and has endured significant weight loss due to what rights advocates describe as systematic starvation policies.
Thousands of detainees have contracted scabies and other diseases in Israeli prisons, exacerbated by poor hygiene, lack of cleaning materials, limited access to showers, and a shortage of clean clothes. The PPS warns that denial of medical treatment is being used as a method of torture, contributing to what they call an "escalating health catastrophe" in Israeli jails.
While the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of remains were designed to bring a measure of relief after years of conflict, the manner in which the bodies have been returned—and the condition in which they arrived—has only deepened the wounds on both sides. As accusations and denials continue to fly, and as families in both Israel and Gaza await the return of their loved ones, the international community faces renewed pressure to investigate, intervene, and ensure that justice is served for all victims of this ongoing tragedy.
For now, the mass graves in Deir al-Balah stand as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict—and of the long, painful road that remains before any true peace can be claimed.