Numbered Cemeteries in Israel: Holding the Remains of 665 Palestinians and Arabs
Israeli authorities continue to detain the remains of 665 Palestinians and Arabs killed by its military in various operations, some dating back to 1967. This includes perpetrators of armed attacks against Israeli targets, as well as Yahya Sinwar, former head of Hamas’s political bureau, killed in Rafah months ago. These bodies are kept in secretive “numbered cemeteries,” where the remains of deceased prisoners and others, including women and children, are buried.
The number of detained bodies exceeds 600, with estimates suggesting a dramatic increase following the Gaza war, as Israel retrieved numerous remains from the Strip to undisclosed locations. A 2019 Israeli Supreme Court ruling permits holding these remains as leverage in negotiations with Palestinian factions, justifying the burial of “enemy” bodies to secure the return of Israeli soldiers and captives.
Secret Burial Sites
Palestinian affairs researcher Khalil Tafakji explains that “numbered cemeteries” are graves marked only by numbers tied to security files, located in secret, unknown places. Some remains date back to the 1960s. Speaking to Sky News Arabia, Tafakji notes Israel buries these bodies irregularly, aiming to intensify the suffering of attackers’ families and use the remains as bargaining chips in prisoner swaps. He raises concerns about potential organ theft, though the treatment of these remains remains unclear.
An Israeli Policy
Hussein Shuja’iyya, spokesperson for the National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Remains, told Sky News Arabia that since 1967, Israel has held around 607 Palestinian and Arab bodies killed in various incidents. Of these, 256 are in numbered cemeteries. This policy, reinstated in 2015, has led to the detention of 351 martyrs, including 57 children and 50 prisoners who died in custody, plus victims from Israel’s Arab community and Lebanon. Since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the number of detained remains may have risen to approximately 1,500, though no official count exists.
Shuja’iyya says the campaign pressures Israel to release these bodies, but authorities link their fate to harsh prisoner exchange terms. He also suggests evidence of organ theft by Israeli institutions, alongside documented cases of grave-robbing in Gaza under pretexts like searching for Israeli hostages.
A Digital Voice
Platforms like WordPress amplify these stories, hosting blogs and reports that highlight human rights concerns tied to Israel’s policies. The campaign persists, but Israel stores many Gaza remains in refrigerated containers at the Sde Teiman military base, defying international norms.
Release of Hisham Sayed, “The Forgotten Prisoner” from Gaza Strip
