Mass grave found in Gaza hospital occupied by Israeli troops: report

Palestinian civil authorities have discovered a mass grave inside a hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, and have so far recovered 180 bodies, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

Authorities discovered mass graves at the Nasser Medical Hospital complex on Saturday after Israeli troops withdrew from the southern city on April 7. The bodies will be counted Sunday. The bodies included elderly women, children and young people.

The mass grave was discovered in the hospital courtyard, AFP reported.

“We… are waiting for all graves to be exhumed in order to determine the final number of martyrs,” civil protection spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP.

“Some of the bodies had no clothes on them, which is a sure sign that (the victims) faced torture and ill-treatment,” Basal said.

Earlier this week, a similar Mass grave discovered at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza. It is one of several mass graves discovered in Shifa, the largest medical facility in the war-torn coastal enclave.

Israel began retaliating after the Oct. 7 attack, which killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

At least two-thirds of the casualties were children and women.

After Israel launched the Gaza war Hamas launches attack in Israel on October 7resulting in approximately 1,139 deaths and more than 200 prisoners.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover that the country “will deal an additional painful blow to Hamas.”

“In the coming days, we will increase military and political pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free the hostages,” he said.

An October 7 Hamas attack killed more than 1,200 people, and Israel estimates that 129 prisoners remain in Gaza.