Local sources from Egypt: الشرق للأخبار Asharq News, Sky News Arabia سكاي نيوز عربية.
UK coverage: Al Jazeera English.
A mass grave containing 180 bodies has been discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to Palestinian authorities. The bodies, which include elderly women, children, and young men, were buried by the Israeli military. This comes after months of relentless Israeli bombardment and heavy fighting in the area. Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah have also continued, resulting in the deaths of 22 people, including 18 children. Despite international calls for restraint, Israel has pledged to expand its ground offensive in the region.
The Civil Defense in Gaza confirmed on Sunday that at least 50 bodies have been retrieved, belonging to individuals who were killed by Israeli forces and buried in a hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The Israeli army stated that it is investigating these reports. According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, the bodies were found “stripped of clothing” and “partially decomposed” in the courtyard of the Nasser Medical Complex.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told the French Press Agency, “We were surprised to find mass graves inside the Nasser Medical Complex, established by the Israeli occupation… Yesterday, we discovered 50 martyrs in one of the graves.” Basal pointed out that there are signs indicating that the bodies “were subjected to various forms of torture, detention, and abuse before being buried,” adding that there are “bodies (…) in an advanced stage of decay and decomposition.” Basal confirmed that the process of retrieving the bodies is ongoing and “the number may increase.”
Ismail Thawabteh, the government spokesperson, said, “The occupation has prepared a cemetery within the walls of the Nasser complex to hide its crimes,” suggesting that “there are 700 martyrs in mass graves executed by the occupation inside the Nasser complex,” in the southern Gaza Strip. He added, “We have discovered two mass graves in the Nasser Medical Complex and expect there to be more,” revealing that “the occupation executed dozens of displaced people, wounded, patients, and medical staff, and the fate of many who were in the Nasser complex remains unknown after the occupation’s withdrawal.” He said, “We found bodies in the Nasser complex without heads, bodies without skin, and some of them had their organs stolen.”
The Gaza government spokesperson called for an international investigation to determine the reasons for the disappearance and decomposition of the bodies of some of the deceased. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip published on Sunday the daily statistical report on the number of deaths and injuries due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment for the 198th day in the Strip, indicating that the death toll of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 34,097 martyrs and 76,980 injured since October 7th last year.
According to a statement from Hamas, “The new mass grave that was discovered in the Nasser Medical Complex contains the bodies of more than 50 martyrs of various ages who were executed in cold blood and buried by military bulldozers under the grounds of the complex. This adds to the numerous mass graves that have been found, especially in hospital courtyards, confirming once again the scale of the crimes and atrocities committed by the Israeli army and raising questions about the fate of thousands of Palestinians who are still missing after the Israeli army’s withdrawal from areas in the Gaza Strip.”
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