Palestinians dig up 51 more bodies from mass grave in Gaza’s Khan Younis

By Mohamed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinians uncovered 51 more bodies on Wednesday from a mass grave at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

“Some 30 victims have been identified, while efforts are still underway to identify the others,” Ismail al-Thawabta, the director-general of Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.

He said at least 334 bodies have so far been found in the mass grave since Saturday.

The bodies were discovered after the Israeli army withdrew from Khan Younis on April 7 following a 4-month ground offensive in the city.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,200 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul