Ansarollah Website – Reports
The Prisoners’ Media Office confirmed that the withholding of martyrs' bodies by the Israeli enemy authorities constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law. Marking the National Day for the Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies—observed annually on August 27—the office highlighted that this policy inflicts ongoing suffering on families by depriving them of the right to learn the fate of their loved ones, bid them farewell, and conduct proper religious burials.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the office noted that available data based on media reports indicates the enemy is holding the bodies of approximately 1,700 martyrs. Meanwhile, the National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies and prisoner advocacy institutions have documented the verified identities of 799 martyrs.
The office detailed that these figures include 256 martyrs detained in the "Numbers Cemeteries," 99 from the prisoners' movement, 81 children under the age of 18, and 10 female martyrs. It added that these numbers are expected to rise given the thousands of individuals currently reported missing in the Gaza Strip.
The statement highlighted that this policy—practiced by the Zionist enemy for decades—denies families their fundamental rights, subjecting them to prolonged distress and suspended grief.
Furthermore, the office emphasized that this practice violates international humanitarian law, which mandates respect for the deceased and dignified treatment of human remains, while infringing upon the families' right to closure and religious burial rites.
The Prisoners' Media Office called on the international community and human rights organizations to pressure the enemy to disclose the fate of all missing persons, unconditionally release the martyrs' bodies to their families, and open independent international investigations into the conditions of their detention and allegations of desecration.
Concluding its statement, the office demanded accountability for these violations of international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory, stressing the urgent need to intensify grassroots, national, and legal efforts to recover the remains as part of the broader pursuit of truth, dignity, and justice for the martyrs' families.
