Antonio Guterres says it is “imperative” that independent investigators are given immediate access to mass graves in Gaza to determine the circumstances behind the deaths.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into Palestinian authorities’ reports of mass graves discovered in Gaza after bodies were found with their hands bound or medical tubes attached at several sites, including two hospitals.
“It is imperative that independent international investigators with forensic expertise be granted immediate access to the sites of these mass graves to determine the exact circumstances in which the Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied,” Guterres said on Tuesday.
The UN secretary general also called on Israel not to enter the southern Gaza town of Rafah, the last refuge for more than 1.4 million Palestinians, after the Israeli prime minister said the offensive would continue regardless of the outcome of ceasefire talks with Hamas will be continued.
A military attack on Rafah would be “an intolerable escalation that would kill thousands more civilians and force hundreds of thousands to flee,” he told reporters.
He added that while there had been “incremental progress” in averting “a completely avoidable man-made famine” in the northern Gaza Strip, much more was urgently needed, including for Israel to fulfill its promise of “two border crossings between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip so that aid can be brought to Gaza from the port of Ashdod and Jordan.”
He cited the lack of security for aid workers and civilians as the biggest obstacle to distributing aid throughout the Gaza Strip. “I once again call on the Israeli authorities to enable and facilitate safe, rapid and unhindered access to the entire Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid workers and relief workers, including UNRWA,” he said.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters on Tuesday that aid deliveries to Gaza had improved in April, but cited a number of ongoing difficulties, including regular closures of border crossings “because they [Israel] They dump released prisoners or sometimes bodies that are taken to Israel and back to the Gaza Strip.”
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, said Israel had sent 225 bodies to Gaza in three containers since December, which were then transported by the U.N. agency to local health authorities for burial, temporarily closing the crossing.
She had no details about the circumstances of her death and said it was not UNRWA’s mandate to investigate.
Palestinian authorities had previously said Israel returned the bodies after confirming they were not hostages. They said they were trying to identify them and find out where they were killed.
Tensions between Israel and UNRWA are high. The former accuses 19 UNRWA staff of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
Israel’s allegations are being investigated by UN investigators, although a separate review found that Israel has not yet provided evidence to support allegations that hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of armed groups.
According to Palestinian authorities, more than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.