The United Nations has called for an “independent, effective and transparent investigation” into reports of mass graves found at two hospitals in Gaza, which were previously raided by Israeli armed forces.
U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said that he was “horrified” by the destruction of An Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza and by reports of mass graves discovered around the hospitals.
“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” Mr. Turk said in a statement on April 23.
“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.”
Mr. Turk called for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel–Hamas war and an unfettered flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. He also urged the release of hostages and those held in arbitrary detention.
The mass graves contained bodies of Palestinian victims, who were reportedly found “stripped naked with their hands tied,” prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes, the U.N. said in a report.
According to the report, hundreds of bodies were discovered “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste” at the two hospitals, with Nasser hospital alone accounting for the recovery of 283 bodies.
More Calls for Cease-Fire
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said there were 30 Palestinian bodies buried in Al-Shifa hospital, and the hands of some of these bodies were also tied.Ms. Shamdasani said that there could be “many more” victims, “despite the claim by the Israel Defense Forces to have killed 200 Palestinians during the Al-Shifa medical complex operation.”
The Israeli military said its forces exhumed bodies that Palestinians had buried earlier as part of its search for the remains of hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. The military said bodies were examined in a respectful manner and that those not belonging to Israeli hostages were returned to their place.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the mass graves discovery “is another reason why we need a cease-fire, why we need to see an end to this conflict, why we need to see greater access for humanitarians, for humanitarian goods, greater protection for hospitals.”
“They’re extremely troubling, to say the least. Yet another reason, as if we needed one, for all of these sites to be fully investigated in a way that is credible and independent,” Mr. Dujarric told reporters on April 22.
Hamas terrorists killed about 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 hostages during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli territory, triggering Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, which the Hamas-run health department said has led to more than 34,000 deaths.
