Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip claimed to have discovered mass graves with dozens of bodies at two hospitals, further alleging that Israeli forces are responsible for it.
The officials reportedly recovered more bodies in the last 24 hours from what is believed to be one of at least three mass graves found at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
As per reports, the Palestinian authorities reported finding scores of bodies in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this week and also at the Al Shifa site.
"We discovered mass graves inside Nasser Medical Complex" of people killed by "the occupation (Israeli) army," Thawabta told AFP.
(VID 03)With this text:"The bodies of thirty martyrs were buried in the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis."
Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip claimed to have discovered mass graves with dozens of bodies at two hospitals, further alleging that Israeli forces are responsible for it. The officials reportedly recovered more bodies in the last 24 hours from what is believed to be one of at least three mass graves found at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
As per reports, the Palestinian authorities reported finding scores of bodies in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this week and also at the Al Shifa site.
The Palestinian territory's Civil Defence agency said on Monday that health workers had uncovered more than 200 bodies of people killed and buried at Nasser Hospital. The authorities reportedly recovered 35 more bodies in the past day.
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Mahmud Bassal, who is a spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence, told the news agency AFP that "civil defence crews are still recovering bodies from inside Nasser Medical Complex, and since Saturday bodies of nearly 200 martyrs have been retrieved".
The spokesman also said that several of the recovered bodies had decomposed.
On the other hand, Ismail al-Thawabta, who is the head of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, said that the figure was higher. He claimed that 283 bodies were found at the hospital. "We discovered mass graves inside Nasser Medical Complex" of people killed by "the occupation (Israeli) army," Thawabta told AFP.
Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media. 03 FEB 2024 - In this footage you see Palestinians digging a mass grave 50m east, at the other side of the building visible in the footage above. (VID 03)
With this text:
"The bodies of thirty martyrs were buried in the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis."
31.3457065,… — GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) April 22, 2024 × Call for international probe
The United Nations on Tuesday (Apr 23) called for an international probe into reports of mass graves. The world body said that war crimes may have been committed.
A spokesperson stated that UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday that he was "horrified" by the destruction of the Nasser and Al Shifa medical facilities.
Ravina Shamdasani, who is the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "We feel the need to raise the alarm because clearly there have been multiple bodies discovered."
The spokesperson further added that Turk said he had been horrified by the reported mass grave discoveries and the hospitals' destruction.
"Some of them had their hands tied, which of course indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations," the spokesperson added.
The hospitals were often targeted over more than six months of war in Gaza. Notably, hospitals are protected under international law. Israel has accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of using Gazan medical facilities as command centres and holding hostages abducted during its attack inside Israel on October 7.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
