Mass graves in Gaza 'a blatant indication of a massacre'

After three days of digging, Gaza's Civil Defense teams recovered more than 300 bodies from a mass grave inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, more than two weeks after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the city.

The Israeli army laid siege to and then raided the medical facility in early February. An estimated 700 people are unaccounted for following the army's attack, according to the Gaza government media office.

Hamas accused Israel of carrying out "executions" and trying to hide its crimes by buring the bodies with a bulldozer. The Israeli army denied the accusations.

The BBC verified footage showing Israeli soldiers detaining medical staff and patients — including a bedridden patient whose hands appear to be bound. The BBC also verified footage documenting 21 instances of staff and patients at Nasser Hospital being targeted by gunfire.

Last week, 30 people were found in a mass grave at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in the north of the Strip. Carmen Abou Jaoudé, professor at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, expert in transitional justice and member of the National Commission for Missing Persons in Lebanon, spoke with L'Orient-Le Jour.

OLJ: What does international humanitarian law say about mass graves?

Jaoudé: Mass graves are closely linked to serious violations of humanitarian law, as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, of international criminal law and of human rights, in particular the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The discovery of mass graves and the remains of missing persons, as occurred in Khan Younis, is a case in point. Most of the exhumed bodies are unidentifiable due to late exhumation. As a result of massacres and war crimes, mass graves where bodies are buried without being identified are a flagrant violation of international law and an affront to human dignity. The exhumation and identification processes must be carried out in accordance with international standards, to enable the families of the victims, who are waiting in agony, to mourn.

OLJ: Who can commission an international survey? What can be done about it?

Jaoudé: There are two procedures for international organizations in this case. Firstly, specialized teams from the International Red Cross must be dispatched to identify the human remains. The humanitarian urgency lies in the need to initiate this process immediately, which could strengthen subsequent legal action. This mission must be entrusted to experts to collect information and DNA samples, identify the bodies, hand them over to their families and provide them with psychological and social support. Next, a judicial inquiry must be mandated by the UN General Assembly, the only body with the resources to compile an exhaustive file on these crimes. It is important to note that this type of investigation requires considerable resources and time, which neither Hamas nor the families can provide.

OLJ: What are the legal consequences of the discovery of mass graves in Gaza?

Jaoudé: I see these actions as a blatant indication of a massacre. They are further proof that war crimes are being committed in Gaza. The UN has stated its intention to conduct an international investigation into these mass graves, which could feed into the ongoing case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel's violation of the Genocide Convention. However, incorporating these violations into South Africa's genocide complaint will require a more thorough and delicate investigation, which falls within the capabilities of the jurists mobilized by the ICJ.