Bodies of handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainees discovered in plastic bags near a school in northern Gaza.
Palestinian authorities have called for an international investigation after the discovery of a mass grave in Gaza containing the decomposing bodies of Palestinian detainees, blindfolded and handcuffed.
At least 30 bodies were found in ‘black plastic bags’ near the Hamad school in northern Gaza, with Palestinian officials accusing Israeli soldiers of killing the civilians ‘execution style’ .
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called for an international investigation into what it called Israeli “massacres,” demanding a team go to Gaza “to uncover the truth and dimensions of the genocide to which our people are exposed.” .
Witnesses told Tel Aviv Tribune that the deceased were blindfolded, tortured and killed before being placed in bags.
“While we were cleaning, we came across a pile of rubble inside the school yard. We were shocked to learn that dozens of corpses were buried under this pile,” a witness told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“As soon as we opened the black plastic bags, we found the bodies already decomposed. They were blindfolded, their legs and hands tied,” added the witness.
“Plastic handcuffs were used on their hands and legs, and cloth straps around their eyes and heads. »
Hamas said human rights organizations should “document” the mass grave.
“This and other heinous crimes committed by neo-Nazis against our Palestinian people will remain a curse that haunts them, and the day will come when they will be held accountable for their brutality and crimes that go beyond the most horrific violations known by humanity in the world. our modern era,” the Palestinian armed group said in a statement on Telegram.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza, said that “the condition of these bodies ranges from severely decomposed to simple skeletal remains… making their identification difficult.”
“But people continue to come to the site, seeking to put an end to this tragic place,” he added.
Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu told Tel Aviv Tribune on Thursday that the incident was “precisely why Israel was brought before the ICJ.”
Buttu added that the discovery of the mass grave was “clearly a war crime” and insisted that an investigation be carried out.
The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take “all measures in its power” to avoid Palestinian casualties and acts that could constitute “genocide”.
The Foreign Ministry said the discovery of the mass grave was evidence of forms of “genocide committed by the occupying forces against our people in the Gaza Strip without accountability or oversight.”
Palestinian detainees are routinely mistreated by Israeli forces in the enclave, subjected to weeks of imprisonment in unknown locations, beatings and insults.
Last month, a United Nations human rights official called for an end to Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian detainees and said he had encountered men held for weeks and beaten and blindfolded.
“These are men who were detained by Israeli security forces in unknown locations for between 30 and 55 days,” Ajith Sunghay, a U.N. human rights representative, said via video link. , to journalists from Gaza, who met with detainees released in the enclave.
“There are reports of men being released later, but only in diapers and without adequate clothing in this cold weather,” he said, adding that it was unclear why they were made to wear diapers, but that “they were visibly shocked and upset.” even shook when I met them.”
Several videos shared by the Israeli army since the start of the war show hundreds of Palestinian men undressed, sitting outside in the cold, sometimes blindfolded. In a few videos, women and children were also seen.
Much of the densely populated Gaza Strip has been destroyed after four months of intense Israeli bombardment and ground offensives.
Gaza health authorities said at least 26,900 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on October 7, following Hamas attacks in Israel that killed at least 1,139 people.
