Israel withholds bodies of 198 Palestinians killed in 2024, advocacy group reports

A Palestinian advocacy group reported Tuesday that the Israeli military is withholding the bodies of 198 Palestinians killed in 2024.

The National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies, a non-governmental organization, said, “Israeli occupation authorities are holding the bodies of 198 documented martyrs in 2024.”

The group noted that this number makes up one-third of the 641 bodies held in Israel’s “Cemeteries of Numbers” and morgues, as documented by the campaign.

The “Cemeteries of Numbers” consist of unmarked graves, each bordered with stones and bearing a metal plate with a number instead of the deceased’s name. The numbers correspond to individual files kept by Israeli security authorities.

In September 2019, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that military commanders could temporarily withhold Palestinian bodies killed by Israeli forces for potential use as “bargaining chips” in future negotiations.

The campaign also said its data excludes withheld bodies from the Gaza Strip due to a lack of accurate information but documented the return of 325 bodies from Gaza by Israeli authorities.

Death toll rises as Israeli attacks persist

Israel’s military operation in Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

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