UN demands international investigation after discovery of mass graves in Gaza hospitals

The United Nations (UN) demanded an international investigation into the mass graves found in the two main hospitals in the Gaza Strip (Nasser and Al Shifa) this Tuesday (23) and denounced the “reigning climate of impunity” in the region. The Civil Protection of the Gaza Strip indicated that since last Saturday (20) around 340 bodies were exhumed that had allegedly been buried by Israeli forces in mass graves at the Nasser hospital, in Khan Yunis, a number that the UN is trying to verify. “The victims were buried very deep in the ground and covered in rubbish,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters. She added that the victims included elderly people and women. Others were “found with their hands tied and without clothes,” she reported.

The Israeli army denies having buried hundreds of Palestinians in hospitals and declared that the accusation is “unfounded”. “The accusations that the Defense Forces of Israel (IDF) buried Palestinian bodies are unfounded,” he said. The army also added that bodies were exhumed to check whether there were hostages among them, before burying them again. According to Israel, Hamas uses hospitals to carry out attacks and hide tunnels and weapons. The Palestinian Islamist movement denies these accusations.

In early April, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Al Shifa hospital, the main hospital in the Palestinian enclave, had been reduced to an “empty shell” with many bodies. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared itself “horrified” by the destruction of Gaza’s two main hospitals. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, demanded “independent, effective and transparent investigations” into what happened. “Given the prevailing climate of impunity, international investigators must participate in this process,” he said.

*With information from AFP