UN urges international investigation into Gaza mass graves – World

IN UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said that an international investigation should be conducted into the mass graves discovered near two hospitals in the Gaza Strip – “Nasser” and “Al-Shifa”. The bodies were discovered after Israeli troops withdrew from the hospital compounds.

“We feel the need to raise the alarm as it is clear that many bodies have been found”Turk was quoted as saying by his spokesman, The New York Times reported.

Last weekend, Palestinian emergency services said they had discovered a mass grave containing 283 bodies in the Nasser neighborhood of Khan Younis. Some of the bodies found were said to have been handcuffed. The previous day, the Israeli military, notes the NYT, explained that they had exhumed the bodies buried by the Palestinians to determine if there were hostages among them. “Examined bodies that did not belong to Israeli hostages were returned to the site”the Israeli military said.

A few days earlier, more than 380 bodies were found in the area of ​​the Al Shifa hospital complex. The UN report said the bodies were first discovered after the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs arrived in early April. According to UN officials, Israeli authorities have previously repeatedly denied aid workers access to the hospital complex. Israel has not commented on this information.

The Israeli military claimed that Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals were used by Palestinian militants as command centers, leading to an operation to destroy and identify them in the hospitals.

“Nasser” was left by the IDF in February, and “Al-Shifa” – in early April.

We also recall this gallery from our archive:

Destruction and pain: The war between Hamas and Israel

* In the video: Netanyahu: Israel is one step away from winning the war in Gaza

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