Families in Gaza seeking missing relatives converge on container of decomposing bodies
Families of people who are unaccounted for in Gaza converged on a container that was dumped in Khan Younis this week, in a desperate and unlikely effort to find and bury loved ones who had been missing for months.
The container was sent across the border from Israel, with 88 decomposing bodies inside. The corpses had been taken to Israel for DNA tests, to ensure there were no Israeli hostages among them.
None of the bodies sent back were identified, and the International Committee for the Red Cross said it was not involved in the transfer. The Gaza Health Ministry initially refused to accept the bodies because they had been sent back without any identification.
A journalist working for CNN said the stench emanating from the container while it was parked at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis was unbearable.
One of those courageous enough to search among the corpses was Umm Mahmoud Yaseen, who last saw her son on October 7, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel. “How are we supposed to identify our children when their bodies are decomposed. I want to see my son, and the bodies are not identified. I can remember what he was wearing when he left the house…”
CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about the latest transfer. The International Committee of the Red Cross said that “all families have the right to receive news about their loved ones and bury them respectfully.”
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