The Israel Embassy in India refuted claims of a mass grave being unearthed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, asserting that the grave had been dug by Gaza residents several months ago.
The Israel Embassy in India has denounced any efforts to attribute the burial of civilians in mass graves to Israel as “false.”
In a post on X, which Israel Embassy in India retweeted, “Misinformation is circulating regarding a mass grave that was discovered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The grave in question was dug — by Gazans — a few months ago. This fact is corroborated by social media videos posted by Gazans at the time of the burial, as seen in the video below. Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and merely an example of a disinformation campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel.”
Misinformation is circulating regarding a mass grave that was discovered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The grave in question was dug — by Gazans — a few months ago. This fact is corroborated by social media documentation uploaded by Gazans at the time of the burial, as seen… https://t.co/EPCQzbmRhq
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 24, 2024
The Israel Embassy in India issued its statement in response to reports from CNN, wherein Gaza Civil Defense workers claimed the discovery of a mass grave containing over 300 bodies at a hospital in Khan Yunis after Israeli forces withdrew from the region earlier this month.
In an interview with CNN, Colonel Yamen Abu Suleiman, Director of Civil Defence in Khan Yunis, revealed that 35 bodies were found at the Nasser Medical Complex on Tuesday, bringing the total count to 310. Suleiman added that an additional 73 bodies had been uncovered on Monday.
Suleiman asserted that some of the bodies were found with bound hands and feet tied, “and there were signs of field executions. We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed.”
On Tuesday, The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) called any “claim that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies baseless and unfounded,” CNN reported.
The IDF said, “During the IDF’s operation in the area of Nasser Hospital, in accordance to the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined. The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages.”
The IDF stated, “The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations has urged for an “independent, effective and transparent investigation” into the unearthing of mass graves at two hospital complexes in Gaza following Israeli troops’ siege and raid earlier this year, as per a CNN report.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressed being “horrified” by the scenes reported at the Nasser and Al-Shifa complexes. On Tuesday, Turk said, “Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators.”
He said, “Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.”