Israel Organ Harvesting Allegations Explained

Allegations that Israel harvested the organs of Palestinians, based on a true story published 14 years ago, have resurfaced as the nation's war with Hamas continues.

On Monday, supermodel Gigi Hadid was among the latest to share allegations that "Israeli authorities had harvested the organs of dead Palestinians."

Taking to Instagram, the model reshared a video by user Umme Murtaza (umme_murtazaa). In the clip, Murtaza told followers to "watch this disturbing video, where health officials admitted that Israeli authorities had harvested the organs of dead Palestinians for years without their consent."

The conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group in the Gaza region continues, though it is in the fourth day of a cease-fire during which hostages and prisoners have been exchanged. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed roughly 1,400 Israelis, 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in subsequent Israel Defense Forces strikes in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

The daughter of American Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, Gigi Hadid and her sister, Bella, have long been outspoken supporters of Palestinians—often dividing fans with their statements on the conflict with Israel.

While the content Hadid shared is based on facts established following a leak to an Israeli news source in 2009, her post did not include information such as when the allegations were made or how authorities responded.

While there are no reports that such a practice has happened in Gaza or the West Bank, the established history risks being folded into misinformed or misleading claims.

Newsweek examined what we know already and where it leaves us.

Where Do the Allegations Come From?

In 2009, an interview with Dr. Yehuda Hiss—former head of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute—was leaked. Recorded in 2000 by Nancy Scheper-Hughes—professor of anthropology at the University of California-Berkeley—Hiss said that pathologists at the institute took skin, corneas, bones and heart valves from the bodies of Israeli citizens, Israeli soldiers, Palestinians and immigrants, often without consent from the deceased's family.

The release of Scheper-Hughes' recording was in response to an article by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. The publication featured interviews with Palestinians who alleged that young men from the West Bank and Gaza Strip were being killed by the Israeli military and their bodies returned with organs missing. Its content was condemned by many leaders and journalists across the world.

"Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family," Hiss said.

The Israeli military confirmed that organ harvesting took place, but that it ended in the 1990s.

"This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer," a spokesperson told Israel Channel 2.

Donald Bostrom—the journalist who wrote the article—said there was no evidence of Israeli forces stealing Palestinians for organ harvesting, but he believed Israel's donation policy needed to be investigated.

In a statement at the time, Israel's health ministry said: "The guidelines at that time were not clear. For the last 10 years, Abu Kabir has been working according to ethics and Jewish law."

While Hiss was dismissed from the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, left-leaning Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported in 2015 that he had been paid as a witness by the Israeli Justice Ministry for his expertise in "important cases" since leaving the post.

In 2008, under the Organ Transplant Act, Israel forbade the trade of organs in exchange for money or any other benefit.

While Israel has attracted attention for alleged connections to wider global organ trafficking, this is distinct from the allegations shared by Hadid, among others, about the taking of organs from dead Palestinians.

The video referred to in Hadid's tweet appeared to show an interview on Israel Channel 2. Newsweek was unable to verify the content of the interview, including its subtitles, attributed in the video and elsewhere on Israel Channel 2.

Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli government and representatives for Hadid via email for comment.

Harvesting Claims Resurface

As Israel began its airstrikes and military campaign in Gaza, the 2009 organ story resurfaced on social media. In some cases, the story was brought up the same day as the Hamas attack on October 7.

Some influencers have repeated the story without clearly saying whether they were referring to historical or contemporary accounts.

One post on X, by user @whoshamdi, on October 31, 2023, which received 1.9 million views, said: "Discovering that Israel has been using DEAD Palestinians skin to treat their patients who need skin transplants etc.... They've also harvested organs of Palestinians without consent has me shocked. There's no way this is real life like I refuse to believe this is real!"

Many posts focus only on the use of Palestinian bodies. However, according to the audio leaked from 2009, evidence shows that Israeli citizens, Israeli soldiers and immigrants were also allegedly targeted.

Others have reposted content from 2009, around the time of the harvesting, including an interview with Donald Bostrom on Russian state-sponsored media outlet RT. Commentator Sulaiman Ahmed posted the video on X on November 19, 2023, with the claim "ISRAEL IS KILLING PALESTINIANS AND STEALING THEIR ORGANS AND SKIN."

These claims have often sat alongside completely unverified and unevidenced accusations that Israel is continuing to harvest bodies and organs, with baseless allegations about Israel stealing corpses from Shifa hospital.

There is no evidence that such a practice is occurring in the current conflict. In all probability, it would be significantly harder to suppress or hide such a conspiracy with the intense media attention the war is receiving along with the sophisticated tools of citizen journalism that exist now, compared to when these incidents were said to have happened.