Wide, shallow pits filled with the sacred remains of oppressed martyrs at three points of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, are the most terrifying and horrifying testament to the war that, for the past seven months, has swallowed up children, women, patients, and all rules of war.
From Khan Yunis, after the onslaught of the Israeli regime's army, only one name remains, but the rubble on the ground with what lies buried beneath it is incomparable. Gaza authorities say after the Zionist army's retreat, 392 bodies were found from three mass graves dug in the north and south of the morgue, as well as north of the dialysis building of Nasser Hospital. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that out of this number, only 165 bodies have been identified based on clothing or some signs, and 227 bodies have no name, no address, and no one to mourn over them.
CNN confirmed in a report that many of the bodies belong to children; a clear testimony to "genocide". Some of the bodies are seen in surgical attire and some still have hospital wristbands around their wrists. Some reports indicate that some were shot in the head. Some sources also say that the Zionists buried the bodies in plastic shrouds to quickly dispose of the evidence of their crime.
The discovery of these mass graves shook the world, and it was predictable that the Israeli regime, like in the past, would shirk responsibility for this crime. The Zionists claimed in a defensive stance that these graves were dug before their raid on Nasser Hospital and they only dug up the graves to see if any Israelis were among the buried or not, then reburied the bodies after inspection. This claim has also been refuted by Gaza officials and eyewitnesses. Witnesses say there was only one small grave in this compound where Gazans buried some of the dead before the Zionist army entered Nasser Hospital to prevent desecration, and they were to be reburied after the military left, but the number of bodies is several times more than when the Israeli regime attacked, and the location of the bodies has also changed.
In this regard, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has called for an independent investigation into the mass graves, especially as evidence suggests that about 20 martyrs may have been buried alive.
Following these statements, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said the United Nations is calling for an international investigation into the discovery of mass graves in Gaza. He demanded the preservation of all medical legal evidence for examination.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, also called for independent, effective, and transparent investigations into these bodies and emphasized that "international inspectors must be present in these investigations." According to him, "Under international humanitarian law, hospitals are afforded special protection during times of war, and deliberate killings of civilians, prisoners, and non-combatants constitute war crimes."
According to the 1949 Geneva Convention, of which the Israeli regime is a signatory, parties to a conflict must take all possible measures to prevent "pillaging" of the dead in war. Mutilation, disrespect, and other forms of indignity towards the dead are also prohibited, and under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, desecration or mutilation of bodies is considered a "war crime". Also, if reburial or reopening of mass graves leads to desecration of the bodies, the matter can be brought before the International Criminal Court. Attempts to cover up crimes through mass graves can also be used as evidence in court.
The first defensive tactic of the Zionist regime in almost all cases similar to this in the past has been to evade responsibility, which has been repeated time and again and has resulted in disgrace, such as the shooting of "Shireen Abu Akleh", an Al Jazeera reporter. Based on this, no one expects a regime that, in broad daylight and before the eyes of the world, has killed 40,000 innocent children, women, and civilians, to respect the bodies or accept responsibility for its war crimes. Also, it is likely that the American and European propaganda and media machine will help the Israeli regime cover up this war crime, but the truth is right there; in the three-meter depth of the Nasser Hospital compound in Khan Yunis; where bodies narrate the bloody and painful history of the Gaza war with a loud voice.
NOURNEWS