This Wednesday, the United States described as “worrying” and “disturbing” the information about the discovery of mass graves on the grounds of the Naser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, where the Gazan authorities have recovered more than 320 bodies.
The deputy spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Vedant Patel, indicated at a press conference that Washington takes these accusations “very seriously” and that they continue to pressure Israel to obtain more information on the matter.
The Israeli Army has stated that the accusations are “completely unfounded”, arguing that during the period in which its troops were in the health complex as part of their raid on the hospital they examined the mortal remains of bodies buried by Palestinians “as part of the efforts to locate the hostages.
Amnesty International’s senior director of research, advocacy, policies and campaigns, Erika Guevara-Rosas, stressed this Wednesday that the discovery of these mass graves highlights the need for independent investigations.
“The heartbreaking discovery of these mass graves underscores the urgency of ensuring immediate access by human rights investigators, including forensic experts, to the occupied Gaza Strip to ensure that evidence is preserved and to conduct independent and transparent investigations aimed at to guarantee accountability,” he said in a statement.
In this sense, he has asserted that in the midst of “a total vacuum of accountability”, as well as “growing evidence of war crimes in Gaza”, Israel “must ensure that it complies with the ruling of the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) “granting immediate access to independent human rights investigators and ensuring that all evidence of violations is preserved.”
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On the other hand, Patel described in a press conference as “dangerous and reckless” the reports in the Israeli media that the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, has initiated a process to legalize 68 outposts in the West Bank.
“It is counterproductive to the cause of peace and the program of the Government of Israel is incompatible with International Law,” said Patel, adding that the Biden Administration will continue to urge Israeli officials to refrain from taking these types of measures that They are “illegal.”