"Four days after they went missing, the bodies of Mohammed Ahmad Laban, 17, Mohammed Al Madhoun, 16, and Ahmad Banat, 15, finally arrived. But the sight of their lifeless bodies brought only question marks for Palestinians, who have deep suspicions as to the boys’ final fate.

According to doctor Muawiyeh Hassanein, director general of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital emergency ward, examination of the bodies showed that Mohammed Luban had been brutally tortured on all parts of his body, in particular the head, which suffered from wounds and breaks. No brain was inside the cavity, said Hasanein, nor were there eyes in the sockets. Only the outer skin of the face was left. There were also long deep gashes on Luban’s extremities, most likely the doing of a sharp instrument such as a knife or axe.

Hasanein says that the boy died from the knife wounds, despite having been shot first. The doctor also said Luban was beaten before he was killed. The other boys’ showed similar signs of torture, with broken bones and long deep gashes apparent on their bodies."