Gaza Authorities Call on UN to Investigate Mass Grave Allegations

    Gaza Authorities Call on UN to Investigate Mass Grave Allegations
    Photo: Ahmad Hasaballah/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images

    The Facts

    • A civil defense team in Gaza on Thursday called for a UN investigation into mass graves found near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in which hundreds of bodies have reportedly been discovered. The team claimed that Israeli forces conducted summary executions at Nasser Hospital without immediately providing evidence.

    • Palestinian officials also said on Thursday that they had discovered 392 bodies at Nasser Hospital. A New York Times report claimed that, of the three mass grave sites at Nasser Hospital, satellite photos indicated that two were dug before Israeli forces raided the hospital in February.


    The Spin

    Pro-Palestine narrative

    Israel has demonstrated a consistent pattern of targeting civilians and medical infrastructure so that it can make Gaza virtually unlivable. Civil defense workers continue to unearth the bodies of Palestinians that Israeli forces either dumped or executed and the fact that this war has been allowed to continue after so many Israeli atrocities is shameful. The US, Israel's biggest ally, also has decided to cover for Israel, consistently lying about the war and Israel's intentions.

    Pro-establishment narrative

    These grave sites must be investigated. However, Israel has never and will never intentionally target civilians, and, to demonstrate its commitment to its principles, Israel will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. The international community, especially as so many nations essentially forget Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities, must remember that Israel did not want this war and it has been forced to take dramatic action to ensure its survival.

    Pro-Israel narrative

    Once again, the media is falsely portraying the situation in Gaza, as the "mass graves" found over the weekend have a simple explanation. The military, while looking for the bodies of hostages, was forced to examine the bodies of Palestinians recently buried in the vicinity of the Shifa and Nasser hospitals, which it did with respect and dignity. The bodies were then returned to their rightful place. One should remember that Shifa was being used as a massive headquarters for Hamas militants, and Israeli forces neutralized as many as 200 terrorists there recently.

    Nerd narrative

    There's a 2% chance that the Palestinian Authority/Fatah will have de facto power in the Gaza Strip on January 1, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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