US Speaks Out About 'Mass Grave' Found in Gaza

The U.S. has asked Israel about reports that a mass grave, reportedly containing more than 300 bodies, was discovered at a hospital in Gaza.

Gaza's Civil Defense agency said on Monday that its health workers had found the bodies of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at a hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Palestinian territory.

Col. Yamen Abu Suleiman, director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis, told CNN 35 bodies had been discovered on Tuesday, bringing the total to 310.

Suleiman alleged that some of the bodies had been found with hands and feet tied, "and there were signs of field executions," adding that "we do not know if they were buried alive or executed."

Newsweek has been unable to verify Gaza's Civil Defense claims, which a spokesperson for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Newsweek were "baseless and unfounded."

The IDF said "in accordance to the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined."

"The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place," the spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday.

The IDF said its forces conducted "a precise" operation against Hamas in the Nasser Hospital area during which "about 200 terrorists who were in the hospital were apprehended, medicines intended for Israeli hostages were found undelivered and unused, and a great deal of ammunition was confiscated."

"The activity was done in a targeted manner and without harming the hospital, the patients and the medical staff," the IDF added.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked to comment about the claims by Gaza's Civil Defense during a news briefing on Monday, when the number of bodies found was thought to be lower.

"Palestinian civil defense crews have uncovered a mass grave with 180 people, including women, men, and children," a reporter said, adding, "are you aware of the report and do you have any comment on it?"

"I've seen those reports and we are inquiring about it with the government of Israel," Miller said.

When asked in a follow-up question if the U.S. will "press the Israelis to find out more about this issue," Miller replied: "that's exactly what we are doing."

Newsweek has also contacted the State Department for further comment.

The Israeli military accuses Hamas of using hospitals and medical facilities as command centers and to hold hostages, claims which are denied by the militants.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on 6 April that Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa in Gaza City, had been reduced to ashes by an Israeli siege.

The war that started after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people and taking 253 people hostage, has so far killed at least 34,183 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the territory, cited by Reuters on Tuesday.

The country's top military intelligence chief, Major General Aharon Haliva, announced his resignation over the Hamas attacks, saying in a letter the country's intelligence directorate under his command "did not fulfill its task."

Meanwhile, the support for Israel's response shown by President Joe Biden's has sparked student protests across the U.S. and and divided Democrats.

On Monday, Biden met with U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) who oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Gaza bombing campaign.

Biden's administration has maintained backing for Israel but over the last few months, been emphasizing the Palestinian humanitarian situation.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of Norwegian Refugee Council, said that the humanitarian situation had "reached catastrophic levels with nearly the entire population forcibly displaced and facing dire shortages of essential goods and services," in a media statement to Newsweek this month.