UN human rights chief decries ‘parading of bodies’ by Hamas

The UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk has strongly condemned the conduct of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas during the handover of the remains of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.

“The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law,” Türk said on Thursday.

“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,” he added.

Hamas set up a stage at Thursday’s handover site, and numerous cheering onlookers gathered alongside hooded and masked militants in uniform.

The four black coffins were displayed on the stage, with a backdrop depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a bloodied vampire hovering over images of the four deceased hostages.

“The war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes,” read the text next to the images.