Nearly 200 bodies discovered in mass grave at Khan Younis hospital in Gaza
Palestinian authorities say 180 bodies have been found in the Nasser medical complex, as Israel continues its deadly attacks on Gaza.
Palestinian Civil Defense teams have discovered a mass grave inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza, with 180 bodies found so far, it has been learned Al Jazeerawhile Israel continues its bombings on the coastal enclave devastated for more than six months.
Saturday and Sunday's discoveries come after the Israeli army withdrew its troops from the town of Khan Younis on April 7. Most of Khan Younis now lies in ruins after months of relentless Israeli bombardment and heavy fighting.
“In the hospital courtyard, members of the civil defense and rescuers recovered 180 bodies buried in this mass grave by the Israeli army. They are elderly women, children and young men,” Hani Mahmoud of the channel said on Sunday. Al Jazeeralive from Khan Younis.
In a statement released late Saturday, Palestinian emergency services said: “Our teams will continue their search and recovery operations for the remaining martyrs in the coming days, as there are still a large number of them. »
It is one of several mass graves discovered at al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the coastal enclave.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, devastated Gaza's two largest cities and wreaked destruction across the territory.
At least two thirds of the victims are children and women. The actual toll is likely higher, as many bodies are still trapped under rubble left by airstrikes, or are in areas inaccessible to medical personnel.
Israel launched its war on Gaza after fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian groups carried out an attack inside Israel on October 7, killing around 1,139 people and taking more than 200 prisoners.
Israel kills 18 children in Rafah
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continue in the coastal enclave, including on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where overnight raids killed 22 people, including 18 children, health officials said on Sunday .
The first strike, early Sunday morning, killed a man, his wife and their three-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti hospital, which received the bodies. The woman was pregnant and doctors managed to save the baby, the hospital said.
Israel has carried out almost daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.
The second strike killed 17 children and two women, all from the same family, according to hospital records. The day before, an airstrike in Rafah killed nine people, including six children.
Hani Mahmoud,Al Jazeeralive from Rafah, said threats of an imminent ground invasion in Rafah were “increasingly strong.”
“Entire families are being directly targeted inside the residential homes in which they shelter,” he said.
“The feeling of security has collapsed for people already traumatized by their flight from one place to another. »
Israel has also pledged to expand its ground offensive to the town on the border with Egypt, despite international calls for restraint, including from the United States.
However, the United States continues to supply weapons to Israel while emphasizing the need to end hostilities in the six-month-old war. On Saturday, the US House of Representatives passed, with broad bipartisan support, the $95 billion aid package to ensure the security of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Source: Al Jazeera
ED translation for the Palestine Media Agency
