Israel is holding nearly 1,700 Palestinian bodies, most of them from Gaza, amid a worsening humanitarian crisis linked to the Gaza war. The bodies are reportedly being retained for possible use in future prisoner or hostage exchange negotiations. The Palestinian group National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs Bodies and Disclosure of the Fate of the Missing says it has documented the names of 799 Palestinians whose bodies are held by Israel, including 81 children and 10 women.

The group says 256 of the documented bodies were buried in military cemeteries known to Palestinians as “numbered graves.” In these sites, graves are marked with numbers rather than names, while identifying records are kept separately. Because the cemeteries are generally in military-controlled areas, relatives cannot visit them and many families remain unaware of burial locations or the circumstances of death.

The policy expanded after 2015, with Israel’s security cabinet approving retention of some bodies in 2017 and its Supreme Court allowing it in specified circumstances in 2019. The group says Israel had returned 930 bodies and 66 boxes of human remains to Gaza by February 4, 2026, but identification is difficult because of limited DNA-testing equipment. Gaza’s Health Ministry says about 7,400 bodies remain beneath rubble.