The United Nations and the United States have called for a clear, transparent, and credible investigation into the mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric emphasized the necessity of allowing credible investigators access to the sites. He also highlighted the need for more journalists to work safely in Gaza to report on the situation accurately.
Earlier on Tuesday, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk expressed his horror at the destruction of the Shifa medical center in Gaza City and Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. He expressed concern over the reported discovery of mass graves in and around the facilities after the Israelis left and called for independent and transparent investigations into the deaths. Türk stressed that hospitals are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law and that the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are incapable of engaging in combat is a war crime.
U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel described the reports of mass graves at the hospitals as incredibly troubling and stated that U.S. officials have sought information from the Israeli government. The Israeli military claims to have exhumed bodies buried by Palestinians as part of its search for the remains of hostages captured by Hamas during the October 7 attack that triggered the war. The military maintains that the bodies were examined respectfully and those not belonging to Israeli hostages were returned to their original place. The Israeli military alleges that it killed or detained hundreds of terrorists who had taken shelter within the two hospital complexes, although these claims have not been independently verified.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and the European Union. The Palestinian civil defense in the Gaza Strip reported uncovering 283 bodies from a temporary burial ground within the main hospital in Khan Younis, which was established when Israeli forces besieged the facility last month. The group explained that people were unable to bury the dead in a cemetery at the time and dug graves in the hospital yard. The civil defense indicated that some of the bodies belonged to individuals killed during the hospital siege, while others were victims of the Israeli forces’ raid on the hospital.
Palestinian health officials assert that the hospital raids have devastated Gaza’s health sector, which is already struggling to cope with the escalating toll from over six months of war. The question of who will conduct the investigation remains unresolved. Dujarric explained that the United Nations would require authorization from one of its major bodies to initiate an investigation. He emphasized that the investigation should prioritize access and credibility, without prejudging the results or the potential investigators.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, indicated after visiting Israel and the West Bank in December that an investigation by the court into possible crimes by Hamas fighters and Israeli forces is a priority for his office. Dujarric reiterated that the discovery of the graves underscores the urgency for a ceasefire, an end to the conflict, increased humanitarian access, enhanced protection for hospitals, and the release of Israeli hostages.
In the Hamas attack that sparked the war, terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel alleges that Hamas continues 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 an estimated two-thirds being children and women. 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 parts of the besieged coastal enclave.
