Hundreds of bodies have been discovered in mass graves at Gaza hospitals that were besieged for weeks by Israeli troops
Officials from Gaza’s Civil Defense Department announced on 25 April that 392 bodies have been unearthed from three mass graves discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Yunis, with some showing signs of having been buried alive.
“We need forensic examination for approximately 20 bodies for people who we think were buried alive in the Nasser Medical Complex,” Palestinian Civil Defence member Mohammed Mughier told reporters on Thursday, adding that some were the bodies of children.
“Why do we have children in mass graves?” he added, stressing that the evidence shows the Israeli army committed “crimes against humanity.”
Ten of the bodies unearthed had their hands bound, while others still had medical tubes attached to them.
“There are indications of carrying out field executions against some of the victims, while the bodies of other victims carried signs of torture and others were buried alive,” officials from Gaza’s Civil Defense Department said during a press conference.
“Several victims were buried in plastic bags and placed at a depth of three meters, which accelerated their decomposition,” the officials added.
The mass graves were discovered after the Israeli army withdrew from Khan Yunis on 7 April following a four-month raid of the city that decimated most infrastructure and left thousands dead.
Gaza officials have previously stressed that the Israeli army uses forced disappearance as a systematic policy against the people of the strip, highlighting that thousands of Palestinians are still missing.
“Some of the bodies found have evaporated and turned to ash. International institutions must identify the type of weapons used [by Israel],” the Civil Defense Department said earlier this week. “We found in the Nasser Complex corpses without heads and bodies without skins, and some of them had their organs stolen,” Gaza’s Government Media Office office also revealed.
Hundreds of bodies were recently recovered in the northern Gaza Strip, particularly in and around Al-Shifa Hospital, where Israeli troops launched a bloody and destructive military operation lasting from 18 March until 1 April.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric called on a “clear, transparent and credible investigation” into the mass graves found in the Gaza Strip.
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 