A mass grave of Palestinians buried by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) was found in the courtyard of the Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City, the government media office (GMO) revealed.
The GMO published footage of the mass grave that was discovered in the front courtyard of Al-Shifa. The mass grave contained ten dead bodies of Palestinians who were executed and buried during the IOF two-week military operations in the hospital last March.
In remarks released by the GMO, Moatasem Salah, a member of the Health Emergency Committee of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, stated: “The first mass grave was discovered in the Shifa Medical Complex after 10 bodies were found buried in front of the reception section of the complex (in the front yard of the hospital).”
“The bodies that were discovered were partially decomposed, partially comprised of body parts, and some of them belonged to women,” Salah continued. “A joint committee comprising the Ministries of Health, Justice, Forensic Evidence, and Medical Services in the Palestinian Ministry of Interior is handling these bodies.”
He made it clear that the bodies would be buried following their identification by the Palestinian families and the conclusion of the legal committee’s work.
“The bodies of the people who were recovered from the cemetery were executed by the Israeli army and buried irregularly in the hospital’s front yard,” medical sources said in media statements.
According to the sources, 10 bodies were found buried separately in the hospital courtyard earlier on Monday.
The medical sources reported that numerous other bodies, either individually or in groups, were discovered buried in different areas of the Al-Shifa Hospital courtyards after being discovered burned, decomposed, or dismembered.
The competent authorities are continuing the search for bodies inside this mass grave and in the rest of the areas of Al-Shifa Hospital and its surrounding areas, and it is not possible at the present time to determine an accurate number of bodies buried there.
And last Tuesday; The Gaza Civil Defense Service announced the recovery of the bodies of 409 dead from the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and the Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings, west of Gaza City, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the two areas.
The spokesman for the agency, Mahmoud Basal, said in a statement that the General Directorate of Civil Defense continued its tasks “to retrieve the bodies of the martyrs from the Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings, and the Khan Yunis Governorate, after the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, in cooperation with the competent government agencies and international institutions.”
He added, “The bodies of 409 martyrs have been recovered so far since the occupation forces withdrew from both areas, and work is still underway.”
He pointed out that there are a large number of appeals that civil defense crews in Gaza receive from citizens about the loss of their children during the period of the occupation forces’ presence, whether in the area of Al-Shifa Medical Complex or the city of Khan Yunis, pointing out the presence of dozens of bodies under the sand and the rubble of destroyed homes.
At the beginning of this April, the Israeli occupation army announced its withdrawal from the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City after a two-week military operation, leaving behind massive destruction and dozens of bodies.
This was the second time that the occupation forces stormed the hospital since the beginning of the war on Gaza. They stormed it on November 16, after besieging it for a week, during which its courtyards, parts of its buildings, medical equipment, and the electricity generator were destroyed.
Since last October 7; The Israeli occupation army is waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has left enormous humanitarian conditions and caused a major health and environmental catastrophe, as a result of the destruction of vital facilities and the overflow of sewage in large areas.
With the beginning of the war; The occupation cut off all supplies of electricity, water, fuel and food to the residents of the Gaza Strip, bombed hospitals, health centres, bakeries, factories, stores, water stations and tanks, and destroyed the infrastructure.
It is currently impossible to pinpoint the precise number of bodies buried in this mass grave, as well as in the remaining areas of Al-Shifa Hospital and the surrounding areas, despite the fact that the appropriate authorities are still searching these areas for remains.
Last Tuesday, the Gaza Civil Defence Service declared that 409 dead had been recovered from the areas where Israeli forces had withdrawn: Khan Yunis, which is located south of the Gaza Strip, and the Shifa Medical Complex and its environs, which are located west of Gaza City.
“To retrieve the bodies of the martyrs from the Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings, and the Khan Yunis Governorate, after the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, in cooperation with the competent government agencies and international institutions,” stated the Civil Defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, in a statement.
“Work is still underway,” he continued, adding that 409 martyrs’ remains had been found so far after the occupation forces left both areas.
He reported that civil defence crews in Gaza receive a great deal of appeals from people who lost their relatives during the military operation, whether in Khan Yunis or the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, citing the discovery of scores of bodies hidden beneath the sand and the debris of demolished homes.
Following a two-week military operation, the Israeli occupation army announced at the beginning of April that it was withdrawing from the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, leaving behind numerous dead and extensive damage.
This was the second IOF attack of its kind on the hospital since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. They first stormed it on November 16, after a week-long siege during which its courtyards, parts of its buildings, medical equipment, and the electricity generator were destroyed.
Since October 7; the IOF has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulted in severe humanitarian conditions, as well as a major health and environmental catastrophe due to the destruction of essential facilities and widespread sewage overflow.
Since the start of the war, the Israeli occupation has bombed hospitals, health facilities, bakeries, factories, stores, water stations, tanks, and other infrastructure, as well as cut off the Gaza Strip’s residents’ access to fuel, electricity, water, and food.
