around the mass graves of al-Nasser hospital, Gazans search for the bodies of their loved ones

The international community is demanding accountability from Israel after the discovery of several mass graves in al-Nasser and al-Chifa hospitals. On site, the victims’ families try to find the remains of their missing loved ones.

After the UN, the European Union and the White House called on Thursday April 25 for an independent investigation after the discovery of mass graves in two of the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip. “This creates the impression that there could be human rights violations”judges a European diplomat. “We want this to be the subject of a thorough and transparent investigation”, “we want answers”for his part declared President Joe Biden’s national security adviser.

In the meantime, Gazans are still looking for their loved ones around al-Nasser hospital, in the town of Khan Yunis. This is what we can see in videos taken by Youssef, an assumed first name, and which Franceinfo was able to consult. “It was horrible. We saw the bodies, the smell”he says.

In one of these sequences, a woman sits on the ground in front of her with two white body bags covered with flowers. She wears a surgical mask and talks to her father on the phone. “The remains of my brother Mounir have been found. May God have mercy on his soul. Come, dad, and bring some perfume,” we hear him say. The exhausted mother, with dark circles around her eyes, interrupts the conversation. “I recognized it, it’s a mother’s heart speaking. Yes, take the most beautiful and expensive perfume you have and come with the boys. We don’t want to put his body in the car “she said to her husband.

Nearly 300 bodies found, Israel denies moving bodies

Mounir’s remains were found among more than 300 corpses around Al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younes. Since the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the city on April 7, dozens of families have been searching for the bodies of their loved ones. Dr Ahmed Moghrabi was in the establishment until February 15. “For two or three weeks the hospital was under siege and people buried the bodies inside the hospital”he testifies.

The victims’ families now accuse the Israeli army of having dug up the bodies to take DNA samples, then throwing them into mass graves. In a press release, the General Staff acknowledges having looked for hostages among the remains but denies having moved the bodies. According to Hamas, corpses were found tied hand and foot, which the Jewish state denies.