Doctors in Gaza say they have been able to identify only two of 120 bodies of Palestinian detainees handed over by Israel this week as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Their work is hampered by Israel's failure to provide any information on the bodies, and a lack of specialised equipment for the task, Dr Ahmed Dhahir, head of forensic medicine at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told The National.
“The bodies came to us with only numbers from 1 to 120. No documents, no records, not even a note. Just symbols, and silence,” Dr Dhahir said.
He described the identification process as “primitive and heartbreaking”.
“We have no DNA lab, no advanced scanning tools,” he explained. “All we can do is examine height, body structure, visible injuries, and then document everything carefully.”
After days of work and obtaining three names from Israeli authorities, they identified two bodies. “Their features were barely recognisable,” Dr Dhahir said. “It was the most painful task of my career.”
Israel released nearly 2,000 living detainees from Gaza on Monday in exchange for 20 living hostages held by Hamas, as part of a truce agreement to halt two years of war triggered by the militant group's deadly October 7 raids on southern Israel.
Israel also agreed to hand over the bodies of 15 detainees in exchange for each of the 28 dead hostages held by Hamas. The group has only returned nine so far, saying it needs more time and assistance to locate the rest.
Members of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the exchanges of detainees and hostages, were seen in Khan Younis on Friday as earth-moving equipment was used to dig a deep trench in search of more hostage remains.
The Director General of Gaza's Ministry of Health, Dr Munir Al Barsh, said the detainees' bodies returned by Israel were “bound like animals and blindfolded”.
“They showed clear signs of torture and severe burns,” he told The National, calling for “an immediate international investigation and the prosecution of the Israeli perpetrators”.
He confirmed that the bodies were not exhumed from the ground, but had been stored for months in Israeli morgues and freezers.
Ismail Al Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, said some of the bodies “were bound at the neck, as if hanged”.
He said Israel's failure to provide any documentation with the bodies was “part of the same cycle of dehumanisation, a continuation of the genocide our people have faced for two years”.
The Health Ministry has launched an online portal where families of missing people can view carefully selected images of the returned bodies, in case they recognise any. Bodies that cannot be identified after five days will be buried under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Endowments, with each grave carefully mapped so families could locate their loved ones later.
As the work of identifying the bodies continued inside Nasser Hospital, dozens of relatives waited in the courtyard, some clutching photos. Among them was Akram Al Munasra, who had managed to identify one of his sons.
“Thank God, I finally found my son Abdullah,” he told The National, his voice trembling. “He had been missing since October 7.
“His face was unrecognisable from the torture. I only knew it was him because of a small mole near his nose and the shape of his teeth.”
He paused, tears streaming down his face. “It was the worst moment of my life. No father should ever have to recognise his child like that.”
His other son, Khaled, remains missing. “I’ve lost both of my sons,” he said quietly. “Abdullah was a civilian. He wasn’t a fighter. He was just near the border that day. Why was he killed like this?”
Mr Al Munasra took a deep breath. “The occupation must be held accountable for what it’s done,” he said.
