Indications of ‘field executions’ at Gaza mass graves
Palestinian civil defence officials are holding a press conference in Gaza’s southern district of Rafah regarding the discovery of mass graves around Gaza’s Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.
Yamen Abu Sulaiman, the head of the civil defence department in Khan Younis, where Nasser Hospital is located, said three separate mass graves have been found at the facility – one behind the morgue, one in front of the morgue, and one near the dialysis building.
Bodies were “stacked together” in the mass graves and showed indications of field executions having taken place, said Abu Sulaiman.
Most of 392 bodies found in mass graves unidentified: Gaza civil defence
Out of 392 bodies recovered in Gaza’s mass graves, only 65 have been identified by relatives, said Yamen Abu Sulaiman, head of Khan Younis’s civil defence department.
The majority of the bodies remain unidentified because of advanced decomposition or mutilation, said Abu Sulaiman, pointing to evidence that some victims may have been tortured.
Abu Sulaiman called on the international community to exert pressure to “put an immediate end to this aggression against our people”, as well as for humanitarian organisations and international media to be let into Gaza to “examine these crimes”.
Mass grave among ‘countless examples of crimes against Palestinians’
It’s been a couple of days since we heard anything from the Israelis on the matter, but the first thing we heard from the Israeli army when they commented was the word “baseless” – trying to point the finger at Palestinians, saying that this is simply untrue.
The Israelis did say, however, that they were looking for the bodies of Israeli captives. They said they had intelligence, that there were captives buried there (Nasser Hospital), and that they did this in a targeted and precise manner with dignity and respect.
But what we’ve been seeing from images on the ground, what we’re hearing from Palestinians, is a completely different story.
If an investigation were to be had, it would be the Israeli army carrying out this investigation themselves, followed by some sort of conclusion where they have absolved themselves of any wrongdoing.
There are countless examples of crimes against Palestinians, executions where the Israeli army has denied any wrongdoing.
Children among those buried in Gaza mass graves
Some of the bodies found in mass graves at Nasser Hospital belong to children, said Palestinian Civil Defence member Mohammed Mughier, who provided photographic and video evidence of several of their remains.
“Why do we have children in mass graves?” he said, adding that the evidence shows Israeli soldiers committed “crimes against humanity”.
20 bodies in mass graves may have been ‘buried alive’: Palestinian Civil Defence member
Ten bodies found in Gaza’s mass graves had their hands bound while others still had medical tubes attached to them, indicating they may have been buried alive, Palestinian Civil Defence member Mohammed Mughier said.
“We need forensic examination for approximately 20 bodies for people who we think were buried alive,” Mughier said.
