On the 23rd, people and medical personnel were exhuming bodies at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Gaza Civil Defence said nearly 340 bodies had been found at the hospital. (Visual China)
Huang Peizhao, special correspondent of this newspaper in Egypt, and Yu Wen, special correspondent of this newspaper
The hospital in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, has recently shocked the discovery of mass graves where hundreds of bodies are buried, causing international shock. According to Agence France-Presse, the emergency services organization Gaza Civil Defence said on the 23rd that health workers found nearly 340 bodies in Nasser Hospital, allegedly Palestinians killed and buried by Israeli forces. The Israeli army denied the claim, calling it "baseless", but admitted that it had "examined" the bodies buried there during the occupation of the hospital in search of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas. Two weeks ago, a similar mass grave was discovered at the Shifa hospital in northern Gaza. U.S. State Department spokesman Patel said on the 23rd that reports of mass graves found in hospitals in Gaza are "incredible" and that U.S. officials have asked the Israeli government for information. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Türk issued a statement on the same day, expressing "shock" at the discovery of the mass graves and calling for an independent and transparent international investigation into the incident.
Israel denies burying bodies, admits it has been "examined"
According to a report by the New York Times on the 23rd, Palestinian Civil Defense Department spokesman Basar said that some of the bodies found in Khan Younis were handcuffed, shot in the head or wearing detainee uniforms, and they were killed and buried by Israeli forces.
According to the United Nations News Network, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on the 23rd that reports of mass graves found in Gaza continue to come in. The Palestinian victims in these mass graves were stripped naked and their hands tied, raising renewed suspicions that Israel might have committed war crimes. Prior to that, the statement said, hundreds of bodies were found "deep underground, covered in garbage" at Nasser and Shifa hospitals. Shamdarsani, a spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office, said: "Among the dead were allegedly elderly, women and the wounded, while others were found with their hands tied and stripped naked. ”
According to AFP, in mid-February this year, heavy fighting broke out near Nasser hospital. On 26 March, Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded the hospital and Amal Hospital. The Israeli military said it had carried out a "precise, targeted operation" against Hamas here, killing or detaining hundreds of "militants" who had taken refuge in two hospitals, but this claim could not be independently confirmed. About two weeks later, the Israeli army withdrew from the two hospitals, and the Gaza Civil Defence then entered the clean-up site.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on the 24th that it is not yet clear how the people in the mass grave died or when they were buried. Prior to Israel's action against Nasser Hospital, staff there had said they had been forced to bury bodies in the hospital's courtyard because nearby fighting prevented them from being sent to the cemetery. But medical personnel said they were detained and humiliated, beaten, doused with cold water and forced to kneel for hours during the Israeli siege of the hospital.
The Israeli military issued a statement on the 23rd, saying that the IDF's claim that the Palestinian body was buried was "groundless". However, the Israeli army admitted that earlier buried bodies had been exhumed in Gaza in search of the remains of hostages kidnapped by Hamas. According to the Israeli side, "the bodies were examined with dignity and the bodies that did not belong to the Israeli hostages were returned to their original places". According to The New York Times, the Israeli military declined to say how many bodies its troops exhumed and reburied, how they died, or whether the remains of Israeli hostages were found at the scene.
UN calls for 'independent inquiry'
According to a report by the Associated Press on the 24th, the United Nations called for an independent international investigation into the incident. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Türk said that given the prevailing impunity, there is a need for an international investigation into the mass graves, not an Israeli one. "Hospitals are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law," he said, adding that "the deliberate killing of civilians, detainees and other hors de combat is a war crime." The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Djarric, said credible investigators must have access to the sites. The question of who could or should conduct an investigation was who could or should conduct the investigation, the report said. For the United Nations to conduct an investigation, it must obtain a mandate from its principal body, Dijarric said. The International Criminal Court is one of the possibilities.
Al Jazeera said that the European Union also supported an independent investigation into the discovery of mass graves at Nasser and Shifa hospitals on the 24th. "This prompts us to call for an independent investigation into all suspicions, all circumstances, because it does give the impression that there may be international human rights violations, and it is important to conduct an independent investigation and ensure accountability," EU spokesman Stano said. ”
The Palestinian newspaper Daily reported that Israel's actions were "outrageous" and that what it had done was a desecration of the bottom line of human morality. The article calls on all peace-loving countries and peoples to unite and put an end to Israel's brutality and barbarism.
The United States approved military aid to Israel
"After the U.S. Congress approves military aid, Israel hits Gaza fiercely", AFP said that after the U.S. Congress approved $13 billion in military aid to Israel on the 24th, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz posted on the social media platform X that the U.S. Senate approved the aid package that has been passed by the House of Representatives, "sending a strong message to all our enemies." According to the report, on the night of the 23rd, several areas in northern Gaza were heavily bombed, and the Israeli military said that its aircraft had "attacked more than 50 targets" in the past 24 hours.
Agence France-Presse said there were growing fears that Israel would soon launch a ground operation against Rafah, which Israel said was Hamas's last major stronghold, but rescue groups warned that an invasion of Rafah would create an "apocalyptic situation." The Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials with knowledge of Israel's plans as saying that Israel plans to move civilians in Rafah to nearby Khan Younis within two to three weeks, followed by a gradual deployment of ground troops to Rafah, targeting areas where Hamas leaders are hiding, and the operation is expected to last six weeks. Hamas said the invasion of Rafah would be a "crime" and that central Gaza and Khan Younis "would not be able to accommodate the many displaced people in Rafah". ▲