U.N. Condemns Israel After Mass Graves Found in Gaza: Bodies ‘Reportedly Showing Signs of Torture and Summary Executions’

The United Nations condemned Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza after the discovery of mass graves discovered at two hospitals.

In a press release issued Monday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights took Israel to task for the “systemic onslaught of violence against Palestinians” in the territory.

Israel has been waging war in Gaza since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in which Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted more than 200 others. Hamas, which controls Gaza, said on Monday it accepted the terms of a ceasefire agreement proposed by Egypt and Qatar. However, Israel said the proposal does not meet its demands. Currently, Israel is conducting strikes in Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge from the ongoing invasion.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, where nearly 90% of the population has been displaced. Most buildings in the territory have been destroyed or damaged, including 70% of housing.

“We are horrified at details emerging from mass graves recently unearthed in the

Gaza Strip,” the U.N. press release stated. “Over 390 bodies have been discovered at Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals, including of women and children, with many reportedly showing signs of torture and summary executions, and potential instances of people buried alive.”

The release, written by several human rights experts, said 14,500 children and 9,500 women have been killed in Gaza.

“The treatment of pregnant and lactating women continues to be appalling, with the direct bombardment of hospitals and deliberate denial of access to health care facilities by Israeli snipers, combined with the lack of beds and medical resources placing an estimated 50,000 pregnant Palestinian women and 20,000 new-born babies at unimaginable risk,” it continued.

The U.N. release also cited the story of a premature Palestinian infant who was rescued from her mother’s womb after the woman was killed by an Israeli airstrike. The baby died five days later.

“Nothing illustrates systematic violence being inflicted on women and their children better than the story of an infant who was saved from her mother’s womb after she was killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, and died days later in an incubator on 26 April,” it said.

“Israel must cease all hostilities and States must end the export of all weapons immediately,” the statement added. “These States can no longer ignore the fact that the weapons are being used to kill and maim innocent women

and children. There can be no more excuses.”

In January, the U.S. Senate voted down a measure that would have directed the State Department to ascertain whether Israel has committed human rights violations in Gaza.