UN chief calls for 'independent' probe into Gaza mass graves
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The European Union also backs a United Nations demand for an independent probe into the graves.
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Health workers unearth bodies found at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024. (AFP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced worry Tuesday over claims of mass graves unearthed in Gaza, including at two hospitals, and concern that Palestinians were executed, calling for an impartial investigation.
"It is imperative that independent international investigators with forensic expertise are allowed the immediate access to the sites of these mass graves to establish the precise circumstances under which the Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied," Guterres stated.
The White House said Wednesday it wanted "answers" from Israeli authorities after the discovery of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals destroyed during Israeli sieges.
Gaza's Civil Defense agency said health workers uncovered at least 392 decomposing bodies of people killed and buried by Israeli occupation forces at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis following their withdrawal from the medical facility.
There is clear evidence of field executions carried out by the IOF at Nasser Medical Complex, it emphasized in its statement.
Around 30 bodies were found buried in two graves in the Al-Shifa Hospital courtyard in Gaza City.
"We want answers," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. "We want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated."
Among the hundreds of bodies the Israeli forces buried in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza one was with its hands bound and clothes wrapped in medical scrubs.
The European Union also backed a United Nations demand for an independent probe into the graves.
"This is something that forces us to call for an independent investigation of all the suspicions and all the circumstances, because indeed it creates the impression that there might have been violations of international human rights committed," EU Spokesperson Peter Stano indicated.
"That's why it's important to have independent investigation and to ensure accountability."
UN chief says much more needed to avert Gaza famine
Guterres stated Tuesday that there has been some headway in avoiding "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in the northern Gaza Strip, but much more is urgently required.
"We have seen incremental progress recently, but much more is urgently needed."
He told reporters that one of the "major obstacles" in bringing aid into the Strip was the lack of security for humanitarian workers and people in need, urging that they not be targets.
According to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2024, wars are the leading cause of food insecurity, describing the food crisis in the Gaza Strip as the worst in eight years.
The GRFC is the flagship report of the Global Network against Food Crises (GNAFC), which was facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The GNAFC is a coalition of development and humanitarian agencies working to alleviate food shortages.
The war on the Gaza Strip resulted in the greatest food crisis ever recorded, according to an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) research. The whole Gaza population is classified as IPC Phase 3 [crisis] or worse, with 50% anticipated to be in a condition of disaster (IPC Phase 5), which occurs when people confront an acute scarcity of food and exhaustion of coping skills.
Guterres warned that the most vulnerable Palestinians are "already dying of hunger and disease."
The UN chief also urged governments with influence over the Israeli occupation "to do everything in their power" to avert an invasion of Rafah, which currently houses over 1.1 million displaced Palestinians.
"It is very important to put all possible pressure in order to avoid what would be an absolutely devastating tragedy," urging the Israeli occupation and Hamas to reach an agreement.
"Without that, I fear the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially," he added, calling an invasion an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee," the secretary-general told reporters.
The construction of a new port in the Gaza Strip ahead of a US military-led effort to allegedly let aid into Gaza is quite advanced, AP reported last week, and some authorities suggest the port might be finished in as little as a week.
Guterres also emphasized that there is "no alternative to the massive use of land routes."
