Israeli military bulldozes 16 cemeteries in Gaza: Report
Ankara, Turkey - The Israeli military has destroyed at least 16 cemeteries in Gaza, US news agency CNN reported over the weekend, citing satellite imagery and social media footage.
The army demolished the graveyards during its ground operation using bulldozers and even extracted some bodies from graves, it said.
Legal experts quoted in the report emphasised that deliberately destroying religious sites like cemeteries and turning them into military targets violates international law, suggesting that Israel’s actions could be considered war crimes.
Based on its analysis of the satellite images and videos, CNN said that in other cases, the army appears to have used cemeteries as military outposts, with bulldozers turning several graveyards into staging grounds.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed to CNN that they had dug up some graves in Gaza, claiming it was done to determine whether Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas were buried there. He alleged that the cemeteries were used by Hamas for ‘military purposes’, saying the Israeli military had no other option but to target them.
The Israeli military also confirmed to Anadolu that they opened some graves in Gaza to extract bodies. They argued that this was done to determine whether Israelis reportedly held by Hamas were buried there and said they conduct sensitive hostage rescue operations in specific locations where information indicates the potential presence of hostages’ bodies in response to critical intelligence or operational information.
Sit-in protest in Jerusalem
Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza
Strip began a sit-in protest on Sunday in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s headquarters in Jerusalem demanding their immediate release.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that dozens of family members of hostages launched the protest on Gaza Street in West Jerusalem to pressure the government to negotiate a deal with the Palestinian group Hamas that would lead to the immediate release of their loved ones.
They raised banners and chanted slogans calling for the release of the hostages, accusing Netanyahu’s government of not making significant efforts to secure their release.
The Hamas attack had resulted in capture of at least 239 Israelis. Some of the hostages were exchanged with Israel during a temporary humanitarian pause that lasted for seven days and ended in early December.
According to Israeli media, the temporary pause led to the release of 105 civilians, including 81 Israelis, 23 Thai citizens and one Filipino who were held by Hamas.
Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups said that as part of the temporary pause, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners, including 71 women and 169 children.