Israel says it is exhuming bodies in Gaza to determine if they're hostages

Source: CNN

Israel says it is exhuming bodies in Gaza to determine if they’re hostages

By Ivana Kottasová, Ibrahim Dahman, Benjamin Brown, Jeremy Diamond and Muhammad Darwish, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 3:08 PM EST, Thu January 18, 2024

(CNN) — Israeli forces severely damaged a cemetery in Khan Younis in southern Gaza earlier this week, exhuming and removing bodies in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN was part of a search for the remains of hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks.

Footage of the burial ground showed the area bulldozed, with graves damaged and destroyed, and human remains left exposed, after the IDF conducted operations in the area.

In response to CNN’s request for comment on the damaging of graves, the IDF told CNN on Thursday that rescuing the hostages and finding and returning their bodies is one of their key missions in Gaza, which is why the bodies were removed.

“The hostage identification process, conducted at a secure and alternative location, ensures optimal professional conditions and respect for the deceased,” an IDF spokesperson told CNN, adding that bodies that are determined not be those of hostages are “returned with dignity and respect.”

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/18/middleeast/israel-exhuming-bodies-gaza-cemetery-intl/index.html