Israel-Gaza news: UN says evidence of Gaza mass graves must be preserved as five killed in Rafah strikes

The UN has emphasised the preservation of evidence of mass graves in the Gaza Strip after 390 bodies were found at two different burial sites outside the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.

Mohammed Al Mighayyer, an official from the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, said so far 165 bodies have been identified at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area earlier this month.

They are still examining the remaining 227 bodies to determine their identities, he said.

“We found three mass graves, the first in front of the morgue, the second behind the morgue, and the third north of the dialysis building,” he added.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric yesterday told at a news conference that “it’s important that all forensic evidence be well preserved”.

Citing the UN’s call for an international investigation on the mass graves, Ms Dujarric said it was “unclear” how that would take place.

Hamas is willing to lay down its weapons and agree to a five-year-truce with Israel if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders, a top official with the militant group said.

Khalil al-Hayya said Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by the rival Fatah faction, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank.

He told the Associated Press that Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions”.

If that happens, he said, the group’s military wing would dissolve.

“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army,” he said.

The UN has emphasised the preservation of evidence of mass graves in the Gaza Strip after 390 bodies were found at two different burial sites outside the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.

Mohammed Al Mighayyer, an official from the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, said so far 165 bodies have been identified at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area earlier this month.

They are still examining the remaining 227 bodies to determine their identities, he said.

“We found three mass graves, the first in front of the morgue, the second behind the morgue, and the third north of the dialysis building,” he added.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric yesterday told at a news conference that “it’s important that all forensic evidence be well preserved”.

Citing the UN’s call for an international investigation on the mass graves, Ms Dujarric said it was “unclear” how that would take place.

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said Israel was “doubly responsible” for killing a Belgian humanitarian worker and his family in the Gaza Strip.

Abdallah Nabhan and members of his family died overnight following an Israeli airstrike in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, prompting the foreign minister to summoned Israel’s ambassador.

Nabhan, whose father, brother, niece and son were also killed, was on the list of people eligible to leave Gaza, according to Belgian development agency Enabel.

Mr De Croo described the deaths as “tragic news” during a plenary session in the lower chamber of the parliament, 7sur7 reported.“They have been refusing it for four months,” he said.

“Everyday, innocent people and children are being killed. Dear Israeli government: This must stop. Now.”

Belgium was eager to recognise the state of Palestine, Mr De Croo reportedly said, adding: “This must be part of a peace process, a process of political reforms necessary on both sides.

At least 108 people were arrested and four police officers were injured yesterday when Boston police moved to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment at Emerson College.

Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up on an increasing number of college campuses following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.

The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza — and in some cases from Israel itself.

The protests have erupted throughout the US at a dozen universities, including Yale, Harvard, along with New York University, University of Texas at Austin and University of Southern California and more.

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday.

The U.N. report said 24 million more people faced an acute lack of food than in 2022, due to the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan. The number of nations with food crises that are monitored has also been expanded.

A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.

Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.

The organisation said it was reviewing claims more than 300 bodies were discovered at two different burial sites outside the Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals, some of whom were women and elderly people.

The UK has announced new sanctions against Iran’s drone and missile industry, Archie Mitchell reports.

Two people linked to the country’s network of drone production, Seyed Mohsen Vahabzadeh Moghadam and Abbas Abdi Asjerd, will be subject to a UK travel ban and asset freeze.

Four companies – Bonyan Danesh Shargh, Pishro Sanat Aseman Sharif Company, Alvand Motorbuilding Industries Company and Moj Gostar Aseman Parvaz Company – will also face a UK asset freeze.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said: “The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region.

“Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message – we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behaviour to account.

“Alongside our partners, we will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons.”