Israel and the Occupied Territories: ICRC response to staged recovery of deceased in Gaza
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is aware of a video pertaining to the recovery of a deceased person in Gaza. At the request of Hamas, the ICRC accepted to be present in good faith in its role as a neutral intermediary between the parties. The ICRC’s presence was notified to Israeli authorities and done in full transparency with them.
The ICRC team at this location were not aware that a deceased person had been placed there prior to their arrival, as seen in the footage. In general, our role as neutral intermediary does not include unearthing of the bodies of the deceased. Our team only observed what appeared to be the recovery of remains without prior knowledge of the circumstances leading up to it.
It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
The situation on the ground in Gaza is exceedingly challenging to work in. Our teams are under constant pressure to take part in operations and do so in good faith in a highly volatile and challenging operating environment. Due to these complexities, the team present was not able to intervene directly on-site.
The ICRC is raising its concerns directly with the parties. We urgently reiterate our call for human remains to be handled in a dignified manner that upholds international humanitarian law obligations, as well as forensic standards. The return of human remains to their loved ones should never be political.
The ICRC also reiterates its call on the parties to uphold their commitments to the ceasefire agreement and facilitate the return of the deceased. The ICRC can only carry out its responsibilities with the cooperation of all involved.
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