The Israeli army on Tuesday denied “unfounded” Palestinian accusations that it buried Palestinian bodies in mass graves at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, saying it had dug up and then reburied bodies there in search of those of hostages.
“The accusations that the Israeli army buried the bodies of Palestinians are baseless,” she assures.
“During his operation in the area of the Nasser hospital” in the city of Khan Younes, “in an attempt to locate hostages and the missing, bodies buried by Palestinians were examined (…) with caution and only in places where information indicated the possible presence of hostages”, explains the army, ensuring “to have preserved the dignity of the deceased”. “The bodies examined were not those of hostages and were returned to their places,” added the army.
UN calls for “independent” investigation
A Civil Defense official in the Gaza Strip told AFP on Tuesday that his teams had discovered the bodies of around 340 people in mass graves on the grounds of the Nasser hospital since Saturday. Some bodies had their hands tied, he added.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said in a statement on Tuesday that he was “horrified by the destruction of the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals” in Gaza City, “and by the announced discovery of mass graves in and around these sites.”
He called for an “independent, sincere and transparent investigation into the deaths”, demanding that it include international investigators, “given the prevailing climate of impunity”. “Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And intentionally killing civilians, detainees and others considered hors de combat is a war crime,” he warned.
200 terrorists arrested according to Israel
The Israeli army claims in its message to AFP to have recently arrested around “200 terrorists” inside the Nasser hospital, during a “precise and targeted operation” against the Palestinian movement Hamas in this sector, without inflict “damage on the hospital, patients and medical staff”.
“Medicines intended for the hostages were discovered, never handed over and unused”, as well as a “large number of ammunition”, assures the Israeli army.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been harshly targeted during Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian territory since the bloody attack perpetrated in Israeli territory on October 7 by Hamas fighters from Gaza.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as command centers, which it denies.
