Detainees Returned bodies of Palestinians show signs of torture, doctors report

Many of the 90 bodies of Palestinians returned to Gaza by Israeli authorities under a ceasefire deal show signs of torture and execution, including blindfolding, cuffed hands and bullet wounds to the head, according to doctors' accounts.

- Julian Borger

As part of the US-brokered truce, Hamas has handed over the bodies of some of the hostages who died in the course of the war and Israel has transferred those of 45 Palestinians who were killed. The exchange was carried out through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Doctors at Nasser hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which received the Palestinian bodies from the ICRC, said yesterday there was substantial evidence of beatings and summary executions and that none of the bodies were identifiable.

"Almost all of them had been blindfolded and had been bound up and they had gunshots between the eyes. Almost all of them had been executed," said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, the hospital's head of paediatrics.