As Israel returns bodies, Palestinians face a grisly search through corpses for lost loved ones

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — In photos, Wahiba Shabat immediately recognized her son’s body. A mother’s heart knows, she said. But when she finally saw his decomposed corpse, she wasn’t sure.

Israel had handed over her son’s body naked, his hands tied behind his back with a zip tie. Scars around his ankles indicated he’d been bound there too, Shabat said. His jaw was broken, with caked blood in his mouth. She had to feel around for a scar on the back of his head to confirm it was him.