Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 20, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 20, 2025
UN rights chief: Hamas parading of coffins said to contain hostages’ bodies violates international law
Red Cross representatives receive from Hamas terrorists coffins apparently containing the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, February 20, 2025. (Reuters/Stringer)
The UN rights chief says the parading of bodies in Gaza is abhorrent and flies in the face of international law, after Hamas handed over what it says are the bodies of four Israeli civilians — a woman and her two young sons, and an elderly man — abducted from southern Israel during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The remains were returned as part of an ongoing hostage-ceasefire deal with the terror group.
“Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” Volker Turk says in a statement.
