The pain of not knowing: Gaza parents identify loved ones by scars, clothes, and broken bones

The remains, brought back to Gaza with severed fingers and multiple lacerations, have shocked families. Any hope of ending their grief has been replaced by new suffering as they face the unrecognizable condition of their loved ones’ remains.

According to Middle East Eye, the bodies returned by the Israeli regime arrived in Gaza frozen, numbered, and lifeless.

Palestinian families had hoped their return would finally answer their two-year questions about the fate of their missing relatives. Instead, new questions have emerged, leaving many families in limbo even after finally burying their loved ones: What happened to their bodies?

Many of the remains delivered to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis were difficult to identify; some were detached body parts, and others showed long stitched incisions.

This has led families to suspect that vital organs or limbs may have been removed while the individuals were in Israeli custody.

However, forensic doctors in Gaza say they cannot confirm or deny these claims because the Ministry of Health lacks the equipment needed for full examinations.

Mohammed Ramadan, a resident of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, said: “My brother Ahmed went missing on the first day of the war. We knew nothing about him or how he disappeared, but I kept searching, hoping to find him.”

When the bodies were returned from the occupied territories as part of the October ceasefire, the Palestinian Ministry of Health displayed photographs at Nasser Hospital for families to inspect.

Ramadan searched for three days without success. On the fourth day, he finally found what he had been looking for.

“I recognized him with about 70% certainty from his face. There was a stitched vertical incision running down from his chest—it looked like his body had been opened.”

Upon examining the body further, Ramadan found distinctive marks confirming the identity of his 37-year-old brother. “The body was burned and had six or seven bullets in it. It was very stiff and completely frozen.”

Ramadan also noticed that one of his brother’s toes had been removed. Forensic doctors in Gaza say this appears to be the case in nearly all bodies received—apparently due to DNA testing conducted in Israeli custody.

He continued: “There was also a stitched vertical cut down his chest. It looked as if his body had been opened. My brother had never had surgery before the war. I even asked his wife—she confirmed he had never had stitches and his abdomen had never been opened.”

Many bodies remain unidentifiable

Doctors and forensic teams in Gaza often cannot determine whether organs are missing because of severe shortages in equipment and essential materials.

Khalil Hamada, Director-General of Forensic Medicine in Gaza, said the bodies returned by Israeli authorities can only be examined externally; internal examinations are impossible.

“The bodies arrive in such extreme frozen conditions that we sometimes have to leave them for one or two days to thaw before their details can be seen,” he said. “Some even arrive partially decomposed.”

He added that handling the bodies is extremely difficult: “What we do is not a full forensic examination, because we lack the necessary capabilities. Our process is limited to documenting identifying features so families can recognize their loved ones.”

Hamada explained that proper examinations require DNA testing and 4D CT scanning—technologies not available in Gaza.

“This severely limits our ability to conduct accurate forensic analysis or fully identify the remains. Many are unidentifiable, and we must bury them without names.”

Israel has returned 345 Palestinian bodies to Gaza so far, but only 99 have been identified. The rest have largely been buried in mass, unmarked graves.

The forensic director also confirmed that Israeli authorities remove certain body parts—such as thumbs and toes—before returning the remains.

Bodies arriving with bound hands and feet

Israel provides no names, forensic reports, condition assessments, or cause-of-death information when handing over the bodies.

After each batch arrives, the Ministry of Health invites families to Nasser Hospital, where photographs of the remains are displayed on a large screen, each labeled with a number.

Families who recognize a relative report the number before viewing the body in the morgue and arranging burial.

Because some relatives cannot be present and viewing times are short, the Ministry also maintains an online page displaying images of unidentified bodies with details such as date received, gender, and body number.

The photos include close-ups of body parts—jaw, skull, fingers, toes—and distinct marks, as well as any clothing the missing person had worn.

Zainab Shabat, from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, recognized her missing 34-year-old brother, Mahmoud Shabat, while scrolling through the page.

“As soon as we saw his hair, eyes, and the upper part of his body, we knew it was him,” she said. The next day, her family went to Nasser Hospital and confirmed his identity.

The family recognized Mahmoud from a head injury he suffered during the 2018 Great March of Return protests against the Gaza blockade.

“One of his index fingers was cut off; his hands were tied behind his back; his feet were tied as well, with marks from metal restraints pressed into his legs. It was clear he had been killed while bound. He had no clothes. There was a bullet wound in his thigh and small pieces of wood on his chest.”

According to Mahmoud’s mother, his face appeared to have been struck so violently that his skull was fractured.

Independent medical workers in Gaza report that many of the bodies received show clear signs of torture, broken bones, and in some cases tied hands, feet, and blindfolded eyes.

Al-Jabbari, whose brother and son were among the recently returned bodies, said she recognized them mostly from their clothing.

“I recognized my brother by his sandals and clothes. Some facial parts and teeth hadn’t fully decomposed. I identified him from the photographs, then we went to see the body after they took it out of the freezer.”

She added that, like nearly all returned bodies, her brother’s left index finger and big toe had been removed.

“I recognized my 20-year-old son by his clothes. Two of his teeth were missing, he had a wound in his left thigh, and shrapnel in his back.”