Mass graves found at Gaza hospitals raided by Israel prompt demands for independent investigation

[David__77]

At mass graves in southern Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, Palestinian authorities say they are uncovering bodies that bear signs of having been shot in the head, their hands bound by zip ties, stripped of their clothes, or buried in hospital gowns with tubes or needles still in their skin. Among the dead are women and children.

The remains found in the mass graves have raised questions about the circumstances surrounding their deaths during the months of intense fighting in and around Nasser Hospital. Israel denies wrongdoing but acknowledges exhuming bodies that had already been buried, then reburying them, in its search for hostages taken captive into Gaza during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, on Thursday called the reports from Nasser Hospital “deeply disturbing,” adding that “we’d like to see this investigated.” Kirby said the White House was in dialogue with Israeli counterparts.

“We want answers,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters during a news briefing Wednesday. “We want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated.”

…

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna149110

[flying_wahini]

1. That's what Genocide is.

[NoRethugFriends]

2. That is not what genocide is.

[FarPoint]

3. close enough for me....

I get the posters point.... Lets say we are going to find more....

[NoRethugFriends]

4. Let's not misuse words. And then approve the misuse.

Standard disclaimer: I am disgusted with Israel's current behaviour

[FarPoint]

13. As am I....

I see it all being the failure of PM ...Benjamin Netanyahug....

I have Palestinian family members...they are in Canada now...

[Chainfire]

12. Arguing semantics. If you don't like genocide, try mass murder, ethnic cleansing or pogrom.

Nazis didn't use the word genocide either, they claimed that they were relocating their victims to the East.

[jimfields33]

29. From the article, it sounds like Hamas is the guilty party.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

5. I'm all for a fully independent investigation, one that doesn't involve Israel nor any branch of the

Palestinian govt.
Let the chips fall where they may.

[AloeVera]

10. So no doctors, nurses, hospital staff?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

20. That's not what I said and you darn well know that.

I said a fully independent investigation without any Israeli or Palestinian/HAMAS govt participation.
Of course interview the witnesses, that's part and parcel to any investigation, that's not govt. doing the investigation.
Please stop putting your words in my mouth, I've no idea where they've been.

[AloeVera]

28. You could have simply answered the question.

Without resorting to a particularly vile personal insult. Again.

I simply wanted to know if you would want to include these eyewitnesses. For the reason that some people consider all medical staff in Gaza to be Hamas and so would object to their participation or seek to delegitimize their testimony.

But the question could have been less agressive and I own that. It's hard to maintain civility when emotions are so high as we see here.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

32. Fair enough.

[AloeVera]

33. Thank you.

[AloeVera]

6. So is Israel going to investigate itself again?

Or will the UN and Amnesty or other third parties be allowed to do a full and immediate investigation as they have asked and that is also demanded by the EU, Germany, France and others?

Stay tuned.

Note that news of mass graves at another hospital, al-Shifa, has been out for weeks. Several hundred bodies there too. I'm not sure why that didn't get any traction. The raid on that hospital and the events that occurred there surely need investigation.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

8. Sounds like you're already convinced that Israel is responsible for these mass graves.

[AloeVera]

9. It's not the mass graves per se.

Palestinians have been using mass or makeshift graves, for lack of other options. We know at both hospitals, staff had to bury a few people on the hospital grounds as people were getting killed by bombing, shelling in and around the hospital. But that was before the IDF raid. When the IDF raided al Shifa, they claimed to have killed 200 terrorists. I assume they didn't take those bodies with them.

And if that's the case, why are there women, children, patients, zip-tied corpses and ones wearing hospital scrubs among the buried? Perhaps they were killed before the raid by shelling etc. We just don't know.

So I see the issue as not that there are mass graves but who is buried there and why and how were they killed?

Don't you want to know if innocents were killed unlawfully? Buried alive for God's sake? Sweeping it under the rug ensures more of this madness. Assuming you see all this death and destruction as madness of course.

[BannonsLiver]

21. So you'd rather have Hamas investigate it?

No need to answer. 😉

[AloeVera]

26. Good. I don't answer loaded questions.

[BannonsLiver]

27. Or inconvenient questions, apparently.

[AloeVera]

30. Not at all "inconvenient".

Not sure what part of an "independent, third-party" investigation is unclear to you.

No one has called for an investigation led by Hamas.

[LexVegas]

7. Hamas military installations. nt

[Oneironaut]

11. Not necessarily by the IDF.

An investigation is important. Hamas would also do this too, if even to frame the IDF or bump off a few dissidents.

[Earth-shine]

14. I'd like to see this independently investigated. Who did it?

It could be that both the IDF and Hamas have contributed to the buried body count.

It's also small in the grand scheme of things, given the level of war crimes and atrocities committed by both sides.

[AloeVera]

15. The only thing we know for sure is that they're all Palestinians.

And some are without a doubt civilians, hospital patients.

I wouldn't minimize those numbers though. There are at least 500 people. If I were their loved ones, I would want to know how and why they died and who bulldozed them under without any dignity given to the dead.

[Earth-shine]

16. Jeez, 500? Oh, my. This could have started well before Oct 7.

[AloeVera]

17. I wouldn't make light of it.

War crimes are pretty serious.

Some people think that because it's Palestinians and not Israelis, it can all be ignored or even made light of. I disagree.

[AloeVera]

19. I am sorry if I misunderstood

And offended you. I truly am.

No need for the violent language though. I'm sure you could rip me apart verbally but I have a pretty thick skin. I just focus on where I need to and let the rest slide.

[BannonsLiver]

22. Nah. I understand your position CLEARLY.

[malaise]

24. Rec

For the truth

[malaise]

23. More war crimes

Genocide

[TexasDem69]

34. Yes Hamas must be held accountable

[NickB79]

25. IDF rejects 'baseless' claim it dug mass graves at Gaza hospital; analysts also doubt charge

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-rejects-baseless-claim-it-dug-mass-graves-at-gaza-hospital-analysts-also-doubt-charge/

It has been documented that Palestinians buried their dead at the hospital grounds both before and while Israeli troops operated in the area.

The location of that burial site was geo-located by experts to the same location where Hamas officials claimed to have discovered the new mass grave.

[gulliver]

31. If these incidents happened at all, it's clearly the Hamas MO, not IDF

The investigation should focus on Hamas as by far the most likely suspect. Does anyone have any doubt that Hamas would murder Palestinians who resist Hamas? And Hamas has shown themselves to be bestial. This seems like them. (If, in fact, the whole thing doesn't turn out to be pure propaganda.)

[Eko]

35. The investigation should focus on where the evidence leads them.