Israel-Gaza: US demands answers over discovery of mass grave near Gaza hospital

A memorial will be held today for aid workers from World Central Kitchen killed in an Israeli air strike on 1 April.

Tensions between the US and Israel have intensified after the White House demanded answers over a mass grave containing bodies of hundreds of Gazans near a hospital in Khan Younis.

Gaza’s authorities said the grave was dug by Israeli soldiers. Israel has insisted it was made by Gazans, but that they had examined bodies while on the ground in the area.

Israeli army spokesperson Major Nadav Shoshani claimed the grave at Nasser “was dug – by Gazans – a few months ago” and claimed “corpses buried by Palestinians” had been examined by soldiers searching for hostages. Israel, has however, not taken responsibility for the deaths of the people whose bodies are in the graves.

A boy sits atop a concrete barrier in al-Zahra in the central Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

The calls come as a memorial to honour aid workers from charity World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on April 1 is to be held at the National Cathedral in Washington on Thursday.

Israel appears to be preparing for a long-expected ground assault on Rafah, close to the Egyptian border, where more than one million refugees from other parts of the territory have taken shelter.

Get a daily digest of news from around the globe with The World Explained newsletter

It comes as Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes on Rafah killed at least five people. In central Gaza, four people were killed in Israeli tank shelling.

National security advisor Jake Sullivan called for an investigation into the graves. "We want answers," he said. "We want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated."

The United Nations has launched its own investigation into the graves.

Hospitals have protection under international law. However, Israel’s assault on Gaza has included a number of medical buildings, as it has claimed Hamas has been hiding members and weapons within hospital facilities.

A staunch ally of Israel, the US has recently questioned Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its attacks on Gaza. Earlier this month, US president Joe Biden called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Mr Netanyahu that future US support for Israel would depend on it taking action to protect civilians.

The call between Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu came shortly after the Israeli air strike killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen, including three British citizens.

Jose Andres, the celebrity chef and philanthropist behind the Washington-based World Central Kitchen disaster relief group, was expected to speak at the celebration of life service.

Those who died were Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha; Britons John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson; dual US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger; Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom; and Polish citizen Damiam Sobol.

Following an investigation, Israel said the military officials involved in the strike had violated policy by acting based on a single grainy photo that one officer had contended – incorrectly – showed one of the seven workers was armed.

The aid workers, whose trip had been co-ordinated with Israeli officials, are among more than 220 humanitarian workers killed in the six-month-old Israel-Hamas war, according to the United Nations. That includes at least 30 killed in the line of duty.

World Central Kitchen, along with several other humanitarian aid agencies, suspended work in Gaza after the attack. “We haven’t given up,” World Central Kitchen spokesperson Linda Roth said last week. “We are in funeral mode right now.”