GENEVA -The UN has called for an international investigation into reports of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals destroyed in Israeli sieges, saying war crimes may have been committed.

The United Nations rights office said it was “horrified” by the destruction of Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa in Gaza City, and its second largest, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

Gaza’s Civil Defence agency said on April 23 that health workers had uncovered nearly 340 bodies, updating an earlier figure, of Palestinians allegedly killed and buried by Israeli forces at Nasser Medical Complex.

In early April, the World Health Organisation said Al-Shifa had been destroyed by an Israeli siege, leaving an “empty shell” containing many bodies.

The UN rights office on April 23 demanded “independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths”.

“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Israel’s army rejected as “baseless” claims that its troops had buried hundreds of Palestinian bodies at the Nasser hospital, but said it had examined corpses buried at the facility.

It did not directly address allegations from the Hamas-run authorities that the Israeli troops were behind the killings.

“During the IDF’s operation in the area of Nasser Hospital, in accordance with the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined,” the statement said.

“Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place,” the statement said, without giving further details.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby addressed the reports at a briefing on April 23. “Obviously scenes of mass graves in general are deeply concerning but I don’t have anything that can confirm the veracity of those,” he told reporters.

Israel has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of using Gazan medical facilities as command centres and to hold hostages abducted during its attack inside Israel on Oct 7, 2023. Hamas has denied those claims.

War crime

“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law,” Dr Turk said. “And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others... is a war crime.”

The UN rights office said it did not have access to independent information as to what had transpired at the two hospitals.

But spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said efforts were under way to corroborate reports given by the Gaza authorities.

“Victims had reportedly been buried deep in the ground and covered with waste,” she told reporters in Geneva.

Older people, women and those who had been wounded were reportedly among the dead, she said. Others were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”.

As for Al-Shifa, the Israeli army said around 200 Palestinians were killed during its military operation at the hospital. Ms Shamdasani pointed to reports indicating that this toll “may be an underestimate”. Around 30 bodies were reported found buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital.

So far, the UN “can’t corroborate the exact figures” of people killed at the two hospitals, she said, adding: “This is why we are stressing the need for international investigations.” AFP