News- Middle East: The Gaza Health Ministry says it has received the remains of 15 more Palestinians returned by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), many of whom bore horrific signs of torture and execution.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the latest transfer brought the total number of bodies handed over since the start of the ceasefire to 135.

It said medical teams are carrying out examinations and identification procedures before handing the remains to families. Seven of the victims have so far been identified.

The bodies were transferred as part of a US-brokered deal under which both sides have exchanged prisoners, captives, and remains.

“Some of the bodies show signs of abuse, beatings, bound hands, and blindfolded eyes,” the ministry said.

Most of the returned bodies of Palestinian prisoners were sent back with numbers instead of names, forcing families to search through photographs of the victims to identify their loved ones.

In a separate statement, Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned Israeli forces for committing “crimes of torture, execution, and mutilation” against Palestinian prisoners.

It said examinations revealed gunshot wounds at close range, crushed limbs, tied hands and feet, and evidence of burns and severe beatings, which it described as “clear proof of systematic torture and field executions.”

Munir al-Bursh, Director-General of the Health Ministry, said in a post on X that the bodies were “tied up like animals, blindfolded, and bearing horrific signs of torture and burns that reveal the extent of the crimes committed in secret.”

He said the visible marks of torture and burns on the bodies of the Palestinian prisoners are “crimes that cannot be concealed.”

According to a report by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, several bodies still had hand restraints and blindfolds.

The Gaza Media Office called for the urgent formation of an independent international investigation committee to document and prosecute “grave violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.”

“Faced with this horrific reality, the international community and human rights organizations bear the responsibility of holding this criminal entity accountable for its crimes against Palestinians and against humanity,” it added.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights documented testimonies from 100 former prisoners held between October 2023 and 2024, finding that torture was systematic across all Israeli prison facilities.

The United Nations estimates that at least 75 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody since October 2023.

Source: Press TV