Gaza officials formally accuse Israel of organ theft, demand international probe

Dozens of Palestinian bodies returned by Israeli authorities were 'blindfolded, bound, crushed under tanks, and missing corneas, livers, and limbs,' officials denounced

News Desk

OCT 18, 2025

https://thecradle.co/articles/gaza-officials-formally-accuse-israel-of-organ-theft-demand-international-probe

Gaza’s Government Media Office formally accused Israel on 17 October of stealing organs from Palestinians after Israel returned 120 mutilated bodies following the recent ceasefire, including some who had been tortured to death.

“We formally accuse the Israeli army of stealing organs from the martyrs,” stated Dr. Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of the Media Office, while demanding an international investigation into Israel's “torture, mutilation, and organ theft.”

The 120 bodies “arrived in extremely poor and distressing condition,” including blindfolded, bound, crushed under tanks, and missing corneas, livers, and limbs, Thawabta stated.

“The Israeli occupation executed many of them in cold blood. A large number were found blindfolded, with their hands and feet bound, and others showed signs of hanging or close-range gunfire,” he added.

“We also found bodies showing clear evidence of severe torture until death.”

Thawabta explained that Israeli authorities refused to provide the names of the victims, making it extremely difficult for authorities in Gaza to identify them.

After the release of the bodies, families of missing Palestinians rushed to hospitals—especially Nasser Hospital—trying to see if their relatives were among them. But many remain unidentified and will have to be buried anonymously.

“The health system in Gaza is almost completely collapsed. We lack the equipment for DNA testing and forensic analysis. Some families could only identify their loved ones from personal belongings or clothing. If we cannot identify the rest, we will be forced, sadly, to document and bury them anonymously, to preserve human dignity,” Thawabta added.

According to the Media Office’s data, 9,500 Palestinians remain missing, most of them trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

“Entire families—father, mother, children—remain buried for nearly two years,” the Media Office director stated.

The bodies are difficult to locate due to the sheer amount of destruction Israeli bombing has caused, and because Israel has destroyed almost all of Gaza’s heavy machinery, bulldozers, and excavators, preventing rescue operations.

“Even now, despite the ceasefire, all crossings remain closed, and Israel blocks the entry of rescue machinery. This is a humanitarian catastrophe unprecedented in modern history—over 3,000 families completely wiped out, another 6,000 families killed with only one survivor,” Thawabta added.

Authorities in Gaza have reported previous instances of organ theft during the genocide.

In August 2024, Israeli forces returned to Khan Yunis the decomposed bodies of 89 Palestinians in a shipping container.

Authorities were unable to identify the bodies and were forced to bury them in separate body bags in a single large grave near Nasser Hospital. 

Israeli forces were also seen taking dozens of bodies from graves and the streets surrounding Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

Doctors found evidence of organ theft, including missing cochleas and corneas, as well as other vital organs like livers, kidneys, and hearts.

Israel has a long history of stealing the organs of Palestinians.

In 1990, Dr. Hatem Abu Ghazaleh, former chief health official for the West Bank, stated that during the first intifada, "organs, especially eyes and kidneys, were removed from the bodies during the first year or year and a half.”

In 2013, Swedish journalist Donald Bostrom published an article documenting the theft of organs from deceased Palestinians brought to the Israeli National Institute of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) between the First Intifada and the 2012 war in Gaza. 

Abu Kabir director and chief pathologist Dr. Yehuda Hiss admitted in a July 2000 interview with US academic Nancy Scheper-Hughes that the institute was secretly taking skin, bones, cardiac valves, corneas, and other human materials from bodies during autopsies.

He described removing not only corneas but whole eyeballs from the bodies of the dead, which would be returned to their families with their eyelids glued shut.

In 1996, Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh, an influential leader within the fundamentalist Jewish group, Chabad-Lubavitch, claimed that Judaism permits organ theft from non-Jews on the basis that Jewish lives are more important than non-Jewish lives.

“If a Jew needs a liver,” he asked, “can you take the liver of an innocent non-Jew passing by to save him? The Torah would probably permit that. Jewish life has infinite value. There is something infinitely more holy and unique about Jewish life than non-Jewish life.”

Head of US Southern Command to Step Down Amid Strikes on Boats and Push Toward Venezuela Regime Change

According to The New York Times, Adm. Alvin Hosley has raised concerns about bombing boats and the policy toward Venezuela

by Dave DeCamp | October 16, 2025 

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/10/16/head-of-us-southern-command-to-step-down-amid-strikes-on-boats-and-push-toward-venezuela-regime-change/

The head of US Southern Command, the military commander overseeing US escalations in the Caribbean and the push toward an attempt at regime change in Venezuela, is stepping down, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.

According to a statement from SOUTHCOM Commander Adm. Alvin Holsey, who served in the position for less than a year, he will be retiring on December 12, 2025, ending a 37-year military career.

No reason was given for his resignation, but according to The New York Times, he had raised concerns about the US military mission in the Caribbean, which has involved a significant buildup of forces and the bombing of five boats that the Trump administration has claimed, without providing evidence, were carrying drugs.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a statement on Holsey’s retirement and praised the admiral, but the Times report said that officials at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill said the praise “masked real policy tensions concerning Venezuela that the admiral and his civilian boss were seeking to paper over.”

Reuters also reported that a source said there had been tension between Holsey and Hegseth and questions about whether he would be fired in the days leading up to the announcement.

The Trump administration has come under significant criticism for its bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats since the operations amount to extrajudicial executions. The Pentagon has also provided Congress with no hard evidence to back up its claims about the strikes.

US officials have also been clear that the real purpose of the military campaign is to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The administration has used drug trafficking as the pretext for the operations, pointing to the large number of overdose deaths in the US, but they are primarily caused by Fentanyl, which doesn’t come from Venezuela or travel through the country on its way to the US.

President Trump has recently authorized the CIA to conduct lethal covert operations inside Venezuela, as the US military is considering launching airstrikes directly against Venezuelan territory.

Washington should not be surprised by China's 'tit-for-tat': Global Times editorial

By Global Times Published: Oct 16, 2025

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202510/1345764.shtml

What exactly has happened between China and the US? Why has the once-cooled trade friction "rekindled into a new battle"? How far will both sides go in this escalating "tit-for-tat" confrontation? These are the questions dominating global attention in recent days. Since the new round of talks in Madrid, Washington has rolled out a series of new restrictions against China, using tariff threats and various controls in an attempt to pressure China. After China responded firmly, the US hurried to "put out the fire." Such roller-coaster behavior once again exposes the arbitrariness and short-sightedness of its trade policy, showing that Washington still has not learned its lesson - nor has it grasped the right way to manage relations with China.

The sudden shift in the trade atmosphere caught many by surprise, yet that's not surprising. The direct trigger for this round of tension was Washington's breach of promises - an all-too-familiar pattern. The South China Morning Post noted in an editorial that the latest escalation in China-US tension is comparable to the tariff war launched by Washington earlier this year, calling it "another round of tit-for-tat measures triggered by fresh US tech restrictions." The article warned that while tariffs may not rise as high as before, "the real damage is that Beijing will see Washington as less dependable and find it harder to put faith in what it promises." CNN similarly described this renewed confrontation as "déjà vu," recalling how, just months after both sides reached consensus in Geneva in June, the US suddenly dropped a series of "bombshell" moves that sent relations plummeting again.

Recently, Washington has sent out a flurry of contradictory signals - on one hand warning that China will "be hurt the most" if it refuses to yield, while on the other hinting that it hopes to cooperate with China, depending largely on "what the Chinese do." It seems that, to some American politicians, "cooperation" apparently means Washington gets to feast at the table for free, while China not only pays for the meal but also yields to whatever Washington demands - and cleans up the mess afterward. The surprise, irritation, and even anger among some US politicians toward China's legitimate and reasonable countermeasures stem from the collapse of this illusion - an illusion shattered by the reality that China now treats the US on an increasingly equal footing.

Washington has overestimated the leverage of its own tools while underestimating China's capacity for counteraction and its strategic composure. This misjudgment has directly translated into a harsh dose of reality. After the US once again threatened to sharply raise tariffs on China, US stock and currency markets tumbled in response, triggering global market panic and casting a shadow over the world economy. The US' reckless actions in shipping, export controls, and other areas have not only seriously harmed China's legitimate rights and interests but also severely disrupted international trade and maritime order, seriously undermining the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains. China's "tit-for-tat" response is not only a defense of its own lawful interests but also a defense of international fairness and justice.

Since the beginning of this year, every US attempt to coerce China has backfired. Unilateral bullying will provoke China's firm countermeasures. This back-and-forth has now formed a clear logic: whoever launches unreasonable suppression must bear the corresponding consequences. As the South China Morning Post put it, Trump's flip-flops and usual tactics do not work with China, and Beijing's stance remains the same - any negotiation must be based on equal respect and mutual trust. We certainly hope Washington will take the initiative to correct its mistakes in a timely manner, but if it continues with extreme pressure, fabricating false narratives, and going back on its word, it will only keep running into the same wall of resistance and the pain that follows. Washington should have a clear behavioral expectation on this point.

Over the past five months, the Chinese and US economic and trade teams have held four rounds of talks, reached important consensuses, stabilized bilateral trade relations, and brought stability to global markets. This process has fully demonstrated that China and the US can find ways to resolve problems on the basis of mutual respect and equal consultation. 

Reviewing the lessons of the past few months, Washington should recognize the following points: First, the US must respect China's legitimate right to development, which naturally includes industrial upgrading and technological progress. Second, China's advancement does not necessarily come at the expense of US interests. While competition exists in certain areas, the space for cooperation - the shared "pie" - is much larger. Third, China and the US can certainly negotiate on issues of mutual concern, but the outcome must be mutually beneficial. There is no "US-wins-all, China-loses-all" solution. Fourth, China will never yield to pressure or blackmail. The "big stick" in Washington's hand is nothing but a paper tiger to the Chinese people.

China has repeatedly emphasized that in tariff wars and trade wars, there are no winners. Equality, respect, and reciprocity are the only viable paths to properly managing differences. China does not seek confrontation, but it will never sit idly by while its legitimate rights and interests are harmed or while international trade rules and the multilateral trading system are undermined. The sooner Washington returns to the right approach in handling relations with China, the sooner China-US economic and trade ties can warm up again.

Smotrich Vows There Will Be Jewish Settlements in Gaza

by Dave DeCamp | October 14, 2025 

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/10/14/smotrich-vows-there-will-be-jewish-settlements-in-gaza/

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Vowed on Tuesday that there “will be Jewish settlements in Gaza” despite the ceasefire deal that Israel signed last week.

The Israeli minister, who also holds a position in the Defense Ministry that gives him power to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank, claimed settlements in Gaza were necessary for Israel’s security.

“So, we have patience, but we have determination, and faith, and with God’s help, we will continue the series of victories, and the big miracles,” Smotrich said at an event in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, according to The Times of Israel.

Smotrich has been one of the leading proponents of cleansing Gaza of its Palestinian population and establishing Jewish settlements in the territory, an idea that has significant support within the Israeli government.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed the idea of settling Gaza, he has expressed support for the ethnic cleansing of the territory, which he has referred to as the “Trump plan,” based on the president’s previous calls to remove Palestinians from the Strip.

Trump appears to have backed away from that idea as the outline for a ceasefire deal that was released by the White House says that “no one will be forced to leave Gaza and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return.” But the details on a long-term truce have yet to be worked out. Israel and Hamas have only agreed to enter the first phase of a ceasefire, which Israel has already violated by limiting aid and continuing to kill Palestinians.

Israel violates ceasefire with deadly attacks on Palestinians in Gaza

Nine Palestinians were killed less than 24 hours after the US and Arab states signed the ceasefire deal in Sharm el-Sheikh

News Desk

OCT 14, 2025

https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-violates-ceasefire-with-deadly-attacks-on-palestinians-in-gaza

The Israeli army killed several Palestinians in Gaza on 14 October despite the new ceasefire agreement which has taken effect across the strip. 

In total, nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli ceasefire violations, Palestinian media reports said. Three bodies arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, while another six arrived at Gaza City’s Baptist hospital.

An Israeli quadcopter targeted civilians in Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood while they were inspecting their homes.

Israeli artillery also shelled areas in Jabalia and Al-Tarans, accompanied by gunfire. There was also gunfire reported in the Al-Tahlia area of Khan Yunis in south Gaza. 

Additionally, a group of young men near Al-Fukhari, east of Khan Yunis, was targeted by Israeli forces, resulting in one death. 

The Israeli army announced that it killed five Palestinians on Tuesday. It said the they had crossed the Yellow Line, where Israeli forces withdrew to as part of an initial pullout stipulated in the ceasefire deal’s map. 

The army said it acted to “remove the threat,” claiming the Palestinians refused to disperse. 

“The IDF calls on Gaza residents to follow its instructions and not to approach the troops deployed in the area,” the army statement added.

A DropSite News report published on 13 October found that Israeli forces carried out a deliberate campaign of arson across Gaza City immediately after the ceasefire was declared.

According to the investigation, soldiers from the Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir, and newly created ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim brigades set fire to homes, shops, and infrastructure on 9–10 October as they pulled out from the city.

As part of the first withdrawal, the Israeli army has left Gaza’s population centers.

The map does not envision a full Israeli withdrawal, with the final stage being a pullout towards the Gaza border, where a buffer zone would be established until the strip is “terror-free.”

Tuesday’s attacks in Gaza came shortly after the release of the bodies of four deceased Israeli captives by Hamas. 

A day earlier, Tel Aviv received all 20 living captives and released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. 

The deal was signed during an Egyptian-US-hosted summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday. 

Trump Suggests One of His Biggest Donors Cares More About Israel Than the US

The president addressed Miriam Adelson during his speech to the Israeli Knesset

by Dave DeCamp | October 13, 2025

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/10/13/trump-suggests-one-of-his-biggest-donors-cares-more-about-israel-than-the-us/

President Trump on Monday suggested that Miriam Adelson, one of his biggest donors during his 2024 campaign, “loves” Israel more than the United States, comments he made during an address to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem.

“I’m gonna get her in trouble with this one, but I actually asked her once, ‘So, Miriam, I know you love Israel. What do you love more? Israel. The United States or Israel?’ She refused to answer. That might mean Israel,” the president said.

Miriam’s late husband, Sheldon Adelson, was also a major contributor to Trump’s previous presidential campaigns, and Trump credited the couple for pro-Israel moves he made in his first administration, including recognizing the Israeli annexation of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

“Miriam and Sheldon would come into the office, they’d call me. I think they had more trips to the White House than anybody else I could think of. Look at her sitting there so innocently, she got $60 billion in the bank … and she loves Israel,” Trump said in his Knesset address, which Miriam attended.

“Her husband was a very aggressive man, but I loved him, very supportive of me. And he’d call up, ‘Can I come over and see you?’ I say, ‘Sheldon, I’m the president of the United States, it doesn’t work that way. He’d come in and do good, though. But they were very responsible for so much, including getting me thinking about Golan Heights,” Trump added.

The president made similar comments while on the campaign trail last year. “Miriam and Sheldon would come into the White House, probably more than almost anybody outside of people that worked there. And as soon as I’d give them something, always for Israel, as soon as I’d give them something, they’d want something else. I’d say, ‘give me a couple of weeks, will you please,'” he said at the Israeli-American Council National Summit in September 2024.

GHF dismantles Gaza sites where thousands of Palestinian aid seekers killed

Starving Palestinians were attacked by Israeli troops and US mercenaries on a daily basis as they were trying to receive aid

News Desk

OCT 10, 2025

https://thecradle.co/articles/ghf-dismantles-gaza-sites-where-thousands-of-palestinian-aid-seekers-killed

The US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has begun to dismantle after killing thousands of Palestinians in the past months during a failed mission worth tens of millions. 

GHF began “dismantling their sites in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza,” eyewitnesses told Quds News Network (QNN) on 9 October. 

Video footage circulating on social media showed bulldozers working near one of the GHF sites in Gaza. 

The news comes as a ceasefire deal has gone into effect, ending the two-year Israeli genocide against Palestinians, which unfolded after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023. 

As part of the 20-point Trump plan announced last month, GHF’s mission will come to an end, and the UN and other international aid organizations will resume humanitarian aid deliveries across the strip. 

Around 3,000 Palestinians have been killed since GHF was established in May in an effort to bypass the UN, which, along with other organizations, refused to take part in the plan for ethical reasons. 

GHF failed to deliver adequate amounts of aid to starving Palestinians. For months, aid seekers were shot dead by Israeli troops on a near-daily basis as they approached the sites, which were run by US security contractors under extremely unorganized conditions. 

The US mercenaries also contributed to the violence, according to multiple testimonies from anonymous contractors. 

Washington provided $30 million in direct funding for the deadly aid scheme, which was frequently referred to as a “death trap.” GHF said it received a $100-million commitment from an unnamed foreign government donor. Reports from earlier this year also claimed Israel allocated about $280 million to GHF.

As the ceasefire took effect, thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in different parts of Gaza, witnessing unprecedented destruction caused by Israel. 

The Israeli army has withdrawn from the strip’s population centers ahead of a prisoner exchange expected in the next 72 hours. 

Many of the ceasefire agreement’s details remain unclear, as Hamas has rejected Israel’s term that it must disarm. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to resume the war if his demands are not met.