The discovery of a mass grave inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip this week has been met with grief and horror from Palestinians and has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and calls for a transparent and credible investigation.
More than 300 bodies have been uncovered so far from the hospital after Israeli forces withdrew on April 7. The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday said more bodies were found at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the enclave’s largest health facility, which the rights body said was “an empty shell” after a two-week Israeli siege ended there on April 1.
The mass graves at Gaza’s two largest medical facilities are among the several discovered since Israel launched its war on the besieged coastal enclave on October 7, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians. Israel’s offensive came after Hamas fighters carried out attacks inside Israel, killing 1,139 people.
The United Nations called Tuesday for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. Credible investigators must have access to the sites, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, and added that more journalists need to be able to work safely in Gaza to report on the facts.
UK faces calls to suspend arms sales to Israel
‘Time has come for UK Government to suspend export licenses,’ says former UK national security adviser
Lord Ricketts, former UK national security adviser, emphasized the urgency of the situation, citing the “dreadful suffering in Gaza” and the looming threat of famine and disease.
He pointed to the UK Foreign Secretary’s own acknowledgment of the dire conditions in the region, indicating that the evidence justifies a suspension of arms exports to Israel.
“I thought the time had come for the UK Government to suspend export licenses. I had actually taken my cue from our own foreign secretary and the increasingly false forceful rhetoric that we had heard from the foreign secretary in the weeks leading up to that, about the situation in Gaza,” he said.
Israel’s military said Wednesday it is deploying two reserve brigade divisions to the Gaza Strip, a move that comes as Israel prepares for a ground invasion in the southern city of Rafah.
The military said the brigades would carry out “defensive and tactical missions,” without offering further details about the plans.
Israeli officials have said an offensive in Rafah is necessary to achieve their goal of eliminating the Hamas militant group.
The United States, United Nations and others have expressed concerns about a ground invasion, saying it could bring a humanitarian disaster to Rafah. More than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering in the area, with many people having fled from other parts of Gaza due to the fighting and Israeli evacuation orders.
The UK will not suspend arms sales. Not in my opinion.
One reply on “Mass Graves Uncovered, Reserves to Rafah,UK : Calls to suspend arms sales to Israel”
https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24565
Israel launched heavy airstrikes on southern Lebanon on 24 April, coming as tensions have surged significantly over the past hours.
“Israeli warplanes carried out a fiery belt of air strikes amounting to more than 13 raids targeting the outskirts of the towns of Aita al-Shaab, Ramya, Jabal Balat, and Khallet Warda,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Wednesday afternoon.
Hezbollah carried out several operations against Israeli forces on Wednesday, including an attack on a building holding Israeli soldiers in the Avivim settlement and troop gatherings in the Netua forest.