Gaza Civil Defence recovers 48 bodies from Al-Shifa Hospital

Approximately 160 bodies are believed to be buried within the hospital grounds

Search and investigation team conduct operation to exhume Palestinians who were killed after Israeli attacks at the Shifa Hospital Complex in Gaza City, Gaza on March 13, 2025. [Dawoud Abo Alkas – Anadolu Agency]

Some 48 bodies that were buried in the grounds of Al-Shifa Medical Complex during the Israeli war on the Strip have been recovered, Quds Press reported Gaza’s Civil Defence saying yesterday.

Brigadier General Raed Dahshan, GCD’s director, stated that “rescue and medical teams began Thursday morning the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs from the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital to be buried in designated cemeteries.”

Dahshan added that among the bodies recovered, 38 were identified by their families and will be reburied elsewhere, while ten unidentified bodies were handed over to the department at the Ministry of Health’s forensics.

He confirmed that the transfer operation would continue for several days, as approximately 160 bodies are believed to be buried within the hospital grounds, making the process complex and labour-intensive.

In his statement, Brigadier General Dahshan urged families who had buried their loved ones at Al-Shifa Hospital to come forward and collect their remains for reburial in designated cemeteries.

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