UN seeks probe into Gaza mass graves

US report criticizes Zionist entity but does not block arms

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday called for an immediate and independent investigation into mass graves allegedly containing hundreds of bodies near hospitals in Gaza. In a statement, members of the council expressed their “deep concern over reports of the discovery of mass graves, in and around the Nasser and Al-Shifa medical facilities in Gaza, where several hundred bodies, including women, children and older persons, were buried.”

The members stressed the need for “accountability” for any violations of international law and called on investigators to be given “unimpeded access to all locations of mass graves in Gaza to conduct immediate, independent, thorough, comprehensive, transparent and impartial investigations.”

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been repeatedly targeted since the beginning of the Zionist entity military operation in the Palestinian territory. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in April that Al-Shifa, in Gaza City, had been reduced to an “empty shell,” with many bodies found in the area. The Zionist entity army has said around 200 Palestinians were killed during its military operations there. Bodies have reportedly been found buried in two graves in the hospital’s courtyard.

The UN rights office in late April had itself called for an independent investigation into reports of mass graves at Al-Shifa and at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis. Gaza officials said at the time that health workers at the Nasser complex had uncovered hundreds of bodies of Palestinians they alleged had been killed and buried by Zionist entity forces. Zionist entity’s army has dismissed the claims as “baseless and unfounded.” The statement Friday from the Security Council did not say who would conduct the investigations.

But it “reaffirmed the importance of allowing families to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives, consistent with international humanitarian law.” Zionist entity’s offensive has killed at least 34,943 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said Friday.

Meanwhile, a long-awaited State Department report on Friday said that Zionist entity likely violated norms on international law in its use of US weapons but it did not find enough evidence to block shipments. The report said it was “reasonable to assess” that Zionist entity, which receives some $3 billion in US weapons a year, has used the arms in ways inconsistent with standards on humanitarian rights but that the United States could not reach “conclusive findings.”

The report had been held up for several days amid debate within the State Department on whether to reprimand Zionist entity, a historic US ally which has faced growing criticism over the toll in the seven-month Gaza war. The State Department finally submitted its report two days after President Joe Biden publicly threatened to withhold certain bombs and artillery shells if Zionist entity goes ahead with an assault on the packed city of Rafah. The report does not affect that decision, with the White House reiterating Friday that it was concerned about Zionist entity’s military action around the southern Gaza city, where some 1.4 million Palestinians have taken shelter.

Biden, facing a furor over the war from within his Democratic Party months before elections, had in February issued a memorandum known as NSM-20 that asked countries that receive US military aid to make “credible and reliable” assurances they are complying with human rights laws.

“The nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents,” it said. “Nevertheless, given Zionist entity’s significant reliance on US-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Zionist entity security forces since Oct 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” it said, referring to international humanitarian law. –AFP