Mass graves in Gaza show victims’ hands were tied, says UN rights office

Days after a UN official reported on the Genocide going on in Gaza, UN human rights officials express shock over reported mass graves and decomposed bodies left behind when Israeli forces retreated from hospitals in Gaza.

Disturbing reports continue to emerge about mass graves in Gaza in which Palestinian victims were reportedly found stripped naked with their hands tied, prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

The development follows the recovery of hundreds of bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste” over the weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, central Gaza, and at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the north. A total of 283 bodies were recovered at Nasser Hospital, of which 42 were identified. 

“Among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded, while others were found tied with their hands…tied and stripped of their clothes,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

Related, media outlets have reported that Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip said that the phenomenon of decomposition and evaporation of corpses is “very common,” and that the type of injuries that arrive at hospitals are something they have never dealt with before, as well as the strange effects they leave on the injured.

Related, the European Union Foreign Affairs High Representative, Josep Borrell, confirmed that the Israeli war on Gaza exposed the cities of the Strip to “greater destruction than the cities of Germany were exposed to during World War II.”

Borrell explained today, Wednesday, during a speech he delivered at a plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, that more than 60% of the physical infrastructure in Gaza was damaged, of which 35% was completely destroyed.

Borrell stressed that "Israel must respect international law, implement the interim measures of the International Court of Justice, and ensure the protection of all civilians."

Wednesday, the Republic of South Africa called on the international community to launch an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the mass graves that were discovered in the Gaza Strip, following the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation “army” from some areas.

Also, the South African Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation indicated, in a statement, the state of terror that emerged after the discovery of mass graves in the “Nasser” and “Al-Shifa” hospitals, after the Israeli occupation “army” withdrew from them.

She stressed that "Israel", which continues its war on Gaza, ignores the decisions of the International Court of Justice and remains unpunished, noting that the evidence related to the mass killings committed by "Israel" against civilians indicates war crimes and genocide.

She stated that South Africa urges the court to launch a comprehensive and impartial investigation into this case, in accordance with the standards of international law, to uncover the facts and bring those responsible to justice.

She explained that international humanitarian law protects human life in times of war by prohibiting attacks against civilians, stressing that it is the shared duty of the international community to ensure that atrocities committed are properly investigated.

Israeli official justifying killing detained, handcuffed Palestinians in Gaza: