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Mass graves were found in Gaza following Israel’s withdrawal. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

”Some bodies were found with tied hands, opened abdomens and stitched in a manner inconsistent with the usual methods of wound suturing in Gaza.”

The condition of some of the bodies found in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza has raised suspicion of organ theft by Israeli forces, a Civil Defence official in the enclave has said.

”Some bodies were found with tied hands, opened abdomens and stitched in a manner inconsistent with the usual methods of wound suturing in Gaza, raising suspicions of the disappearance of some organs,” Mohammed Al-Mughayer, the director of the supply and equipment department at the Gaza Civil Defense Agency, told a press briefing on Thursday, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Gaza’s Civil Defense teams uncovered the bodies of 392 people buried in mass graves at the hospital in Khan Yunis. The bodies of children were among the victims.

“The bodies of a man and a mutilated young girl missing limbs were also found wearing hospital gowns, raising suspicions of their being buried alive,” Al-Mughayer added.

Plastic Shrouds

In addition, the hands of some bodies were found with plastic restraints “and corpses were wearing white robes used by the Israeli army as clothes for detainees in Nasser Hospital, with marks of gunshot wounds to the head, raising suspicions of their execution and field liquidation.”

”We also found many bodies wrapped in black and blue shrouds made of plastic and nylon, which are different than the color of shrouds used in Gaza,” Al-Mughayer added.

He said this caused “suspicions that the occupation’s goal was to raise the temperature of the bodies to accelerate their decomposition and conceal evidence.”

The civil defence official said evidence “indicates that the occupation committed crimes against humanity and carried out field executions on the premises of Nasser Hospital.”

”We demand the swift opening of an international investigation into this matter,” he stressed.

The Israeli army withdrew from Khan Yunis on April 7 after a four-month-long ground operation in the Nasser Medical Complex.

Tortured Bodies

Also on Thursday, Yamen Abu Sulaiman, the head of Gaza’s civil defense agency, told a press conference that evidence of torture was found on some bodies.

“There are indications of carrying out field executions against some of the victims, while the bodies of other victims carried signs of torture and others were buried alive,” Abu Sulaiman said.

On Wednesday, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee denied reports about burying Palestinians in mass graves at the Nasser Hospital.

Gaza’s government media office Director, Ismail al-Thawabta reportedly said, “The narrative the Israeli occupation is using to try to escape from its crime in the Nasser Medical Complex are just lies to mislead the public opinion, and there is much evidence of this.”

Investigation Urged

On Wednesday Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said “an independent, effective and transparent investigation into the deaths at Nasser and Al-Shifa hospitals must be conducted.”

He said “At this point, there are many entities on the ground, including the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. And they can follow up on any rights violations that may have occurred at the grounds of hospitals.”

Earlier this month, the Civil Defense in Gaza said that hundreds of bodies were found after the Israeli army withdrew from the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings in Gaza city, after a two-week siege.

Footage published by Al-Jazeera showed charred bodies of Palestinians in the streets and roads surrounding the complex.

Over 34,356 Dead

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,356 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,368 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(PC, Anadolu)

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