Palestinian officials said scores of bodies had been found, some shot in the head, at one hospital after Israeli forces withdrew. Israel said it had dug up and reburied some bodies in a search for hostages.
Liam Stack, Hiba Yazbek and
reporting from Jerusalem and Geneva
- April 23, 2024
The United Nations’ human rights office on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into two mass graves found after Israeli forces withdrew from hospitals in Gaza, including one discovered days ago over which Israeli and Palestinian authorities offered differing accounts.
Palestinian Civil Defense said over the weekend that it had found a mass grave containing 283 bodies on the grounds of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, two weeks after a similar mass grave was found at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency services organization, said some of the bodies found in Khan Younis were handcuffed, shot in the head or wearing detainee uniforms. He accused Israeli forces of killing and burying them. Israel’s military declined to address those claims on Tuesday, and they could not be independently verified.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/world/middleeast/gaza-mass-grave.html
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In Gaza’s Rafah district, Palestinian civil defense officials discuss mass grave discoveries near Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals. Yemen Abu Solaiman, head of civil defence in Khan Younis, reveals three graves at Nasser Hospital, expressing concerns over signs of executions. Of 392 bodies found, only 65 are identified due to decomposition or mutilation. Abu Sulaiman urges global action to halt aggression and allow access for scrutiny.
Gaza civil defence teams say they have recovered dozens more bodies from mass graves on the grounds of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. 310 bodies have been found so far. Witnesses say some of the victims were killed during the Israeli siege on the hospital. Civil defence officials say hundreds more are buried in the medical complex. Zainah Haroun, a spokesperson for Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian rights organisation based in the occupied West Bank, says the discovery of the mass graves at Nasser Hospital and previously at al-Shifa Hospital is “stark evidence of war crimes and of course the genocide which is being perpetrated against the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel”. “Initial reports from Nasser Hospital show that some of the bodies of the killed people had their hands tied behind their back and some of the bodies were women and Palestinian people who were elderly, as well,” she told Al Jazeera. Haroun said what was needed was “a proper investigative mechanism” to be given full and unrestricted access to the Gaza Strip as a whole, including the sites where mass graves have been uncovered. “Most of the information that we’re getting at the moment is from incredibly brave Palestinian journalists who are reporting these horrific atrocities on the ground and are also being targeted by Israel,” she added. Haroun said one testimony gathered by Al-Haq from al-Shifa Hospital showed how “dire” the situation war. “One family member was desperate to find just a trace of his uncle; he said that he found his sandals but even if he could find a body part, an arm or a leg, that they could at least take that and bury him so they’re able to sleep at night,” she added.
