The United Nations has demanded a clear, transparent, and credible investigation into the mass graves found at two major hospitals in Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric highlighted the importance of credible investigators having access to the sites and stressed the need for increased safety for journalists reporting on the situation. Earlier, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk expressed his horror at the destruction of Shifa medical center in Gaza City and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, as well as the reported discovery of mass graves in and around the facilities after the Israeli forces had left. He called for independent and transparent investigations into the deaths, emphasizing that international investigators should be involved given the climate of impunity.
Türk emphasized that hospitals have special protection under international law and that the intentional killing of civilians and others hors de combat (incapable of engaging in combat) constitutes a war crime.
U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel on Tuesday termed the reports of mass graves at the hospitals ‘incredibly troubling’ and stated that U.S. officials have sought information from the Israeli government. The Israeli military claimed that it had exhumed bodies previously buried by Palestinians as part of its search for the remains of hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, which initiated the conflict. The military assured that the bodies were handled respectfully and that those unrelated to Israeli hostages were returned to their original burial place.
The Israeli military maintains that it killed or detained hundreds of militants who had taken refuge within the two hospital complexes, but these claims have not been independently verified. The Palestinian civil defense in the Gaza Strip reported on Monday that it had uncovered 283 bodies from a temporary burial site within the main hospital in Khan Younis, which was established when Israeli forces besieged the facility last month. The group explained that during the siege, people were unable to bury the dead in cemeteries, leading them to dig graves in the hospital yard. The civil defense stated that some of the bodies were of individuals killed during the hospital siege, while others were killed during the Israeli raid on the hospital.
Palestinian health officials assert that the hospital raids have crippled Gaza’s health system, which is struggling to handle the escalating casualties resulting from over six months of conflict. The question of who will conduct an investigation remains unanswered. Dujarric explained that for the United Nations to launch an investigation, authorization from one of its major bodies would be required. He emphasized that it was premature to prejudge the results or speculate on who would conduct the investigation, stressing the need for an inquiry with both access and credibility.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, indicated after visiting Israel and the West Bank in December that an investigation into potential crimes committed by Hamas militants and Israeli forces ‘is a priority for my office.’ Dujarric reiterated that the discovery of the graves underscores the urgent need for a ceasefire, an end to the conflict, increased access for humanitarian aid and protection for hospitals, and the release of Israeli hostages.
During the initial Hamas attack that triggered the conflict, militants killed approximately 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, and seized around 250 hostages. Israel claims that the militants continue to hold approximately 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. In response, Israel’s air and ground offensive in Gaza, aimed at eliminating Hamas, has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, with children and women accounting for approximately two-thirds of the fatalities. The offensive has devastated Gaza’s two largest cities, triggered a humanitarian crisis, and forced around 80% of the territory’s population to flee to other areas within the besieged coastal enclave.
