Three Gazans 'found killed' after release from Israeli detention: family and witness

The dead and handcuffed bodies of three Palestinian men released from Israeli detention have been found near Gaza's border with Israel, with an uncle of one of the victims and a witness said they had been attacked by Israeli forces shortly after their release.

Abdel Hadi Ghabayen, an uncle of one of the detainees, Kamel Ghabayen, said he set out at 5 am on Sunday looking for his nephew following his arrest by Israeli forces on Saturday.

"I found him left on the ground along with the other two martyrs. They were without clothes, and their hands had plastic cuffs put on them by the Israeli army," Ghabayen said.

The bodies were found near the Israeli border fence on Sunday in the vicinity of the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in southern Gaza, he said.

Reuters could not independently confirm what happened to the three men or the reason for their arrest. The Israeli military did not respond for a request for comment on these accounts.

Abdel Hadi Ghabayen said one of the men had lost a leg and his body was "in pieces" after what he described was an attack by Israeli forces carried out shortly after their release.

Ghabayen said that when he tried to recover the man's dismembered leg the Israelis "started shooting at me, so I stopped." He later carried the bodies of the three on his truck to Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The three - Kamel Ghabayen, Mohammed Awad Ramadan Abu Hejazi and Ramadan Awad Ramadan Aby Hejaz - were among several Palestinians detained on Saturday and held for questioning, according to one of the men, Mahmoud Abu Taha.

Abu Taha said they were attacked by gunfire fire shortly after their release.

"We reached Karkar Street (in Gaza). After 10 minutes of being there, we found a bomb thrown at the people with me. Thank God I was at the front. The bomb hit 6 or 7 people who were detained with us. Thank God I am alive," he said.

Israel has detained scores of Palestinians from Gaza during its war on the enclave, ongoing since October 7.

Several Palestinian detainees have been killed during or after their captivity, including doctors Adnan al-Bursh and Iyad Rantisi, with dozens more remaining detained across Israeli prisons.

Israel's war in the Gaza Strip has killed 38,193 Palestinians as of Monday, as the military onslaught enters its ninth month.