By: Virginia Pietromarchi, Nils Adler and Farah Najjar
Aljazeera, 25 April 2024
- The Palestinian Civil Defence says it will cooperate with an independent investigation into three separate mass gravescontaining 392 bodies.
- Demands for “answers” from Israeli leaders reverberate as the grisly effort to dig up corpses buried in Khan Younis continues.
- A Hamas official says the group is “serious” about releasing captives, but only with a ceasefire.
- A senior Israeli official says the military is “moving ahead” with its planned ground invasion of Rafah, ignoring a growing chorus of international warnings to call it off.
- At least 34,305 Palestinians have been killed and 77,293 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive in Gaza.
UN says mandate required to take custody of Gaza mass grave evidence
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general, told Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey during a press briefing that while the organisation is collecting information on mass graves discovered at Nasser Hospital, a mandate is required from a UN legislative body in order to take custody of any evidence.
“We’ve called for an international investigation. How that will take place? It’s unclear at this time. There are certain parts of this organisation that have the authority to do that,” Dujarric said.
“In the meantime, it’s important that all forensic evidence be well preserved,” he added.
News Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcx5JaYe0oM
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