Haaretz reports that Israel is holding the remains of around 1,700 Palestinians for possible use in future exchanges, despite no Israeli captives currently being held by Hamas.
The figure emerged during recent discussions within Israel’s security establishment, the newspaper said, citing two unnamed sources. Shin Bet chief David Zini reportedly supports retaining the bodies in case Israelis are captured or go missing in the future, a position backed by the Israeli army.
Legal sources cited by the newspaper questioned Israel’s authority to retain the remains, saying it lacks the power to hold the bodies of Palestinians with no proven involvement in fighting unless the Security Cabinet first establishes a policy allowing it.
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 Palestinian bodies from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military facility in southern Israel.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, the Israeli army continues to attack parts of Gaza, killing at least 1,258 Palestinians and injuring 4,139, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian authorities. The war has also devastated the enclave, damaging or destroying an estimated 90 percent of its infrastructure.
