Sde Teiman horrors: 135 Palestinian bodies ‘Israel’ returned mutilated
Images reviewed by The Guardian, too graphic to publish, show Palestinian victims blindfolded, bound, and one with a rope still around his neck.
Gaza health officials say at least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians returned by “Israel” were previously held at the notorious Sde Teiman concentration camp in southern occupied Palestine, which is already under investigation for torture and deaths in custody.
Dr. Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, and a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told The Guardian that documents found inside the body bags indicated all the remains originated from Sde Teiman. The site, previously exposed for keeping Palestinian detainees in cages, blindfolded, handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds, and forced to wear nappies, has long been associated with severe human rights abuses.
“The document tags inside the body bags are written in Hebrew and clearly indicate that the remains were held at Sde Teiman,” al-Bursh said. “The tags also showed that DNA tests had been carried out on some of them there.”
“Israel” has been allegedly conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into the deaths of 36 Palestinians who were detained at the same facility.
As part of the US-brokered truce in Gaza, Hamas has handed over the remains of several captives who died during the war, while “Israel” has so far returned the bodies of 150 Palestinians.
Images of the Palestinian victims reviewed by The Guardian, too graphic to publish, show several of the deceased blindfolded, their hands tied behind their backs, and one with a rope around his neck.
Doctors: ‘Israel’ carried out killings and torture of Palestinians
Doctors in Khan Younis who examined the bodies said both autopsies and field observations “clearly indicate that Israel carried out acts of murder, summary executions and systematic torture against many of the Palestinians.” Health officials reported “clear signs of direct gunfire at point-blank range and bodies crushed beneath Israeli tank tracks.”
Evidence strongly suggests that many of the Palestinians were executed. Sde Teiman serves both as a detention camp notorious for deaths in custody and as a storage site for bodies abducted from Gaza. Human rights groups are calling for an investigation to determine how many victims died at the facility.
Eyad Barhoum, administrative director of the Nasser Medical Complex, said the bodies arrived “with no names but just codes,” adding that the process of identifying them had begun.
‘Where is the world? All our hostages returned tortured and broken’
the hands at the level of the zip ties, likely indicating ischemic changes due to excessive restraints.”
He added, “This might be someone who was either injured and captured (thus died under Israeli custody) or someone who died due to injuries inflicted after his capture.”
Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, a UN rapporteur and forensic specialist, urged that “a call should be made for independent and impartial forensic assistance to assist efforts to examine and identify the dead.”
When asked whether the Palestinian bodies had been taken from Sde Teiman, the Israeli occupation force said it was “not commenting on this matter.”
According to the UN, at least 75 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 7, 2023.
