Israel holds 1,700 Palestinian bodies amid Gaza crisis
Israel is holding the remains of around 1,700 Palestinians for potential use in future prisoner or hostage exchanges, Haaretz reported Monday, citing Israeli security sources.
The report said most of the bodies belong to Palestinians from Gaza who were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel or subsequent fighting, although some reportedly had no involvement in hostilities. Legal experts cited by the newspaper questioned Israel’s authority to retain the remains without a formal Security Cabinet policy.
UN officials meanwhile warned that Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip continue to put civilians at risk and deepen humanitarian needs.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said security and safety teams had recorded multiple incidents since Friday, some of which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties. Humanitarian teams have also identified and marked more than 1,000 items of unexploded ordnance across Gaza since the war began.
Palestinian Christians warn of escalating pressure
The Palestinian Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs warned of continued violence, displacement and pressure on Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
In a letter to church leaders worldwide, committee head Ramzi Khouri said attacks against Christians formed part of a broader pattern involving settler violence, land confiscation, settlement expansion and restrictions on access to holy sites.
The committee highlighted Taybeh, described as Palestine’s last entirely Christian town, saying worsening economic conditions and violence had forced increasing numbers of families to leave.
Israeli forces accused of Lebanon violations
Israeli forces also carried out artillery strikes, explosions, a ground incursion and house burnings in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
The reported attacks came days after the seventh round of Lebanese-Israeli talks in Rome, which focused on implementing a framework agreement concerning borders, detainees and an Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon.
Settlement plan advances near Jerusalem
Separately, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said Israel had advanced plans for a settlement of around 650 housing units south of Jerusalem.
The proposed Nofei Rachel project would cover about 27 dunams (6.7 acres) next to Palestinian homes, according to the governorate. Israeli rights group Ir Amim also said three major settlement projects totaling more than 3,400 housing units had advanced in East Jerusalem in recent weeks.
The UN and most countries consider Israeli settlements in territory occupied since 1967 illegal under international law.
Source:AA
