JERUSALEM — Israel is holding the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians for bargaining purposes, even though there are currently no Israelis being held hostage by Palestinian groups.
According to the Haaretz daily on Monday, Israel is holding the bodies of around 1,700 Palestinians for possible use in future exchanges.
The figure was raised during recent discussions within Israel’s security establishment, the newspaper said, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Shin Bet chief David Zini supports retaining the bodies in case Israelis are taken captive or go missing in the future, a position also backed by the Israeli army, according to the report.
Shin Bet security service chief David Zini argues that Israel must keep these remains as bargaining chips in the event of future hostage-taking incidents, a position the Israel Defense Forces also supports.
Haaretz said most of the bodies belong to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel or subsequent fighting.
Some, however, belong to Palestinians who were not involved in the fighting, it said.
Legal sources cited by Haaretz questioned Israel’s authority to retain the bodies, saying the state lacks the power to hold the remains of Palestinians with no proven involvement in fighting unless the Security Cabinet first establishes a policy on the matter.
In October 2025, the Palestinian National Campaign for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies and Disclosure of the Fate of the Missing said Israel was holding around 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military facility in southern Israel.
The Israeli army continues to target Palestinians in several areas of the Gaza Strip despite an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10, 2025, killing at least 1,258 Palestinians and injuring 4,139 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 in a genocidal war since October 2023. The war has also caused widespread destruction, affecting 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.
Source: Saudi Gazette