Israel says it’s holding on to Gazan man’s body as bargaining chip, even though there are no more hostages

The human rights group Gisha says that the Israel Prisons Service is holding the body of a Gazan who died in Israeli custody for use as a bargaining chip in future hostage negotiations, even though no Israeli hostages have been held in Gaza since January.

Gisha, which focuses on aiding residents of Gaza, has petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that Israel release his body.

Haaretz reports that, in its response to the petition, the state said it is still formulating its policy regarding the body, a process that began in April.

The body belongs to a man named Ayman who was killed by Israel in December 2023, according to Gisha.

In response to a Gisha query in 2024, the state said it had “no indication” that it was holding Ayman, but in July 2025 it acknowledged that he had died in Israeli custody and that the state was holding his body, Haaretz reports.

Israel then claimed that Ayman was a military operative for Hamas, which his family denies, Haaretz says.

In a separate instance, Haaretz reveals that the state cannot locate the body of Rami, a construction worker who had been working legally in Israel but who was arrested shortly after October 7, when the government revoked Palestinian work permits en masse in the wake of the attack.

Haaretz says Rami died in custody after his diabetes went untreated, and that the incident is under investigation.