Shin Bet Chief Urges Israel to Keep Holding 1,700 Palestinian Bodies — Most From Oct. 7 — as Future Bargaining Chips

Haaretz reported August 11, 2026 that Shin Bet chief David Zini has urged the Israeli defense establishment to continue holding the remains of roughly 1,700 Palestinians — most of them combatants killed while taking part in the October 7, 2023 attack, but also including some uninvolved civilians and the bodies of 13 Israeli citizens — for potential use as leverage in future hostage or prisoner negotiations, despite Hamas no longer holding any living or deceased Israeli captives. The military has backed the position. Legal sources cited by Haaretz argued Israel lacks the legal authority to withhold the remains of non-combatants absent explicit Security Cabinet policy, and human rights groups said the practice violates international humanitarian law requiring dignified burial of the dead.