Israel has returned the bodies of nearly 90 Palestinians who were killed during the military offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Yamen Abu Suleiman, the director of the Palestinian Civil Defense Service in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, stated that it is unclear whether the bodies were exhumed by the army from graves during the ongoing ground offensive or if they are “detainees who were tortured and killed.”

“The occupation has not provided us with any information about the names, ages, or anything at all. This is a war crime, a crime against humanity,” said Abu Suleiman. He added that the bodies will undergo examination to determine the cause of death and to identify them before being buried in a mass grave near the cemetery adjacent to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Gaza’s government media office reported that Israel sent back 89 bodies described as “bones and decomposing corpses in an inhumane manner.” They claimed that Israeli forces had “stolen” 2,000 bodies since October 7 from several cemeteries that were bulldozed during their ongoing military offensive.

The office further stated that Israeli forces had previously exhumed graves in Khan Younis, Jabalia, and the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, transferring the bodies to “unknown locations,” acts that constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity. It was also reported that Israeli forces continue to hold dozens of bodies.

Hamas claimed that the bodies were handed over in “a state of complete decay, with no possibility of determining their identities.” They added, “It highlights the sadism of the [Israeli] occupation and the level of crime committed by the Nazi occupying army, unprecedented in the history of humanity.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army regarding the return of the bodies. Previously, Israel has claimed that it returned the bodies after verifying that they were not Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the attack on October 7.

In Jerusalem, the group “Israeli Hostages and Families of the Missing” questioned why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would allow the return of Palestinian bodies without a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. “Why are the bodies being returned outside the framework of a comprehensive agreement? Such an agreement could bring back living hostages for rehabilitation and the dead for proper burial,” the group stated in a release.

The escalating tensions in the region are increasing desperation among families and friends of the 111 remaining hostages, including 39 known to be deceased, who were taken during the October 7 attack. Critics argue that Netanyahu, facing a corruption trial, prefers to prolong the conflict rather than enter into an agreement that could upset his hardline coalition partners and potentially lead to his ouster from office.