Gaza: the reaction to the hundreds of bodies found in a mass grave in a hospital

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals in Gaza — and by reports of “mass graves” found in both facilities after forces invaded Israelis.

Türk called for the opening of independent investigations into the deaths.

Palestinian authorities said they had exhumed the bodies of nearly 300 people at Nasser Hospital. It is unclear how they died or when they were buried.

The Israeli military said, for its part, that allegations that it buried bodies there were “unfounded”.

But they added that during a two-week operation at the hospital, located in the town of Khan Younis, in February, their troops “examined” bodies buried by Palestinians “in locations where intelligence information indicated the possible presence of hostages.”

Ten hostages who have since been released said they were held at Nasser Hospital for long periods while in captivity.

Before the Israeli operation at Nasser Hospital, officials had said they were being forced to bury bodies in the hospital courtyard because nearby fighting was blocking access to cemeteries. There were similar reports at al-Shifa Hospital before the first Israeli raid on the facility in November.

The Israeli military said it raided several hospitals in Gaza during the war because Hamas fighters were operating inside them — an allegation that Hamas and health authorities deny.

More than 34,180 people — most of them children and women — have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said it is currently working to confirm reports from Palestinian authorities that 283 bodies were found on the grounds of Nasser Hospital, including 42 that have been identified.

“The victims would have been buried deep in the ground and covered with rubbish,” Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Among the dead were reportedly elderly, women and injured, while others… were found with their hands tied and naked.”

Volker Türk called for independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths.

“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” he added.

“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are out of combat [que não participam das hostilidades] It’s a war crime.”

On Monday (22/4), the spokesman for the Hamas-run Civil Defense force, Mahmoud Basal, told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program, the BBC’s Arabic-language news service, that he had received reports from local Palestinians reporting that the bodies of a “large number” of people who were killed during the war and buried in a makeshift cemetery in the hospital courtyard had been moved to another location during the Israeli invasion.

“After research and investigation, we discovered that the occupation army [israelense] had established a mass grave, removed the bodies that were in Nasser Hospital, and buried them in this mass grave”, declared Basal.

The Gaza Today program also spoke to a man who said he was looking for the bodies of two male relatives, who he claimed were taken by Israeli troops during Israel’s recently concluded offensive on Khan Younis.

“After having buried them in an apartment, the [israelenses] they came and took the bodies,” he said. “Every day we look for their bodies, but we can’t find them.”

Hamas claims the bodies include those of people “executed in cold blood” by Israeli forces, without providing evidence.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday (23/4): “The allegation that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded.”

“During the IDF operation in the Nasser Hospital area, in line with the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the Nasser Hospital area were examined.”

“The examination was carried out carefully and exclusively in locations where intelligence information indicated the possible presence of hostages. The examination was carried out respectfully, maintaining the dignity of the dead. The bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place.”

The IDF also said that its forces detained “around 200 terrorists who were in the hospital” during the operation — and that they found ammunition, as well as unused medicines intended for Israeli hostages.

They also insisted that the operation was carried out “in a targeted manner and without harm to the hospital, patients and medical staff”.

Doctors who remained at Nasser Hospital after Israel’s invasion said they were unable to care for patients — and that 13 died due to conditions in the unit, including a lack of water, electricity and other supplies.

On April 1, Israeli troops withdrew from al-Shifa Hospital, located in Gaza City, following what the IDF said was another “precise” operation carried out in response to intelligence indicating that Hamas had regrouped. there.

At the time, the IDF stated that 200 “terrorists” had been killed in and around the hospital during the two-week operation. They added that more than 500 people had been detained, and weapons and intelligence information had been found “throughout the hospital.”

After gaining access to the facility five days later, the World Health Organization (WHO) said al-Shifa Hospital was “now an empty shell,” with most of the buildings extensively damaged or destroyed, and most of the equipment unusable or reduced. to ashes.

The WHO also stated that “numerous shallow graves” had been dug outside the emergency department and administrative buildings and surgical centers, and that “many bodies were partially buried, with limbs visible.”

The IDF said it had avoided harming al-Shifa patients. But the WHO quoted the hospital’s acting director as saying that patients were kept in appalling conditions during the siege — and that at least 20 patients reportedly died due to the lack of access to care and the limited movement imposed on doctors.

Shamdasani, the spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, said reports seen by the organization suggest that a total of 30 bodies were buried in the two graves — and that 12 of them have been identified so far.

The Gaza Civil Defense spokesman told the American network CNN, on April 9, that 381 bodies had been recovered near al-Shifa Hospital, but that the number did not include people buried on the unit’s premises.

The UN high commissioner for human rights also called “beyond war” a series of Israeli attacks on the city of Rafah in recent days, which he said killed mainly women and children.

Türk also warned once again against a large-scale Israeli ground attack on Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced civilians are sheltering, saying it would lead to further violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.

In response, the IDF stated that it was “operating to dismantle Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities.”

“In stark contrast to Hamas’ intentional attacks against Israeli men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes whatever precautions possible to mitigate civilian harm,” they added.