Gaza’s government media office accuses the International Committee of the Red Cross of treating Palestinian and Israeli prisoners’ bodies differently.
Gaza’s government media office has accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of exhibiting “double standards” over its handling of the bodies of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement on X, Ismail Thawabta, head of the media office, criticized the ICRC for its contrasting treatment of the remains of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
“While the Red Cross holds solemn official ceremonies when receiving the bodies of Israeli hostages, it delivers the bodies of Palestinian martyrs in blue bags tossed into trucks that lack the most basic elements of human dignity,” he said.
Thawabta added, “This blatant discrimination reflects double standards and exposes the international community’s failure to achieve justice and fairness!”
During the handover of Israeli bodies, Red Cross staff covered the black coffin with a white cloth and set up barriers to block photography, symbolizing mourning.
We recall when the Red Cross transported Palestinian civilian bodies in stacked blue bags inside a truck—some with… pic.twitter.com/DgTeKwKXFC
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) February 20, 2025
The ICRC had not responded to the accusation at the time of publication.
This follows an incident earlier this week when the Palestinian resistance group Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli captives as part of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
The ceasefire, which came into effect last month, ended a period of intense violence in Gaza that has left at least 48,300 people dead, mostly women and children, and devastated the region.
Body Transfer
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) received on Thursday the bodies of four Israeli detainees from the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.
Five ICRC vehicles entered the Martyrs’ Cemetery in the Bani Suhaila area of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.
After signing a document with a representative of the resistance, the ICRC received four coffins, each bearing the picture and name of the Israeli prisoner, the date of death, and the phrase “killed by the occupation army.”
Israeli forces had heavily targeted the area during their military operation in Gaza.
⛔ بينما يُجري “الصليب الأحمر” مراسم رسمية مُهيبة عند تسلُّم جثث الأسرى الإسرائيليين، يُسلِّم جثامين الشهداء الفلسطينيين في أكياس زرقاء تُلقى داخل شاحنات تفتقر لأبسط مقومات الكرامة الإنسانية. هذا التمييز الصارخ في التعامل يعكس ازدواجية المعايير ويفضح العجز الدولي عن تحقيق العدالة… pic.twitter.com/NjvKzUr53h
— د. إسماعيل الثوابتة #غزة (@ismailalthwabta) February 20, 2025
A banner was raised in the area that read, “Return of war = return of prisoners in coffins,” referring to the fate awaiting Israeli prisoners in Gaza if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to return to war.
The handover was attended by a group of Gaza prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, who had been released during previous batches of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades—the military wing of Hamas—stated that the Brigades, along with the Al-Quds Brigades—the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement—would hand over the bodies of the Bibas family and prisoner Oded Lifshitz.
He explained that all the prisoners were alive before the places where they were being held were deliberately bombed by Israeli aircraft.
(PC, Anadolu)
