Israeli authorities release body of slain Palestinian child held since March

The Israeli authorities have released the body of a Palestinian child who was killed by Israeli fire in March, Wafa news agency is reporting. According to the report, Salim Sami Salim Faqha was shot dead by Israeli forces near Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah, on 17 March 2026. Another boy was wounded in the attack. The Israeli military has since witheld Faqha's body from his family. The General Authority of Civil Affairs said its teams had received the child's body at the Ein Sinya checkpoint and transferred it to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, ahead of his burial in his hometown later today. Israel has long maintained a policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians. Israeli forces routinely kill Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip and seize their bodies. Several human rights groups have repeatedly condemned the policy, calling for the victims' immediate release and return to families. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported earlier in August that the Israeli authorities are withholding the bodies of about 1,700 Palestinians for potential use in future exchange deals, despite no Israeli captive being held by Hamas. Under Israeli law, the retention of Palestinian bodies is permitted and has been implemented across the occupied Palestinian territory. However, international humanitarian law explicitly prohibits the withholding of bodies. It states that the dead must be treated with dignity, "honourably buried" and "if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged".