Gaza’s civil defence agency has reported the unearthing of three separate mass graves containing a total of 392 bodies. The bodies discovered in the graves exhibit signs of executions and of being buried alive.
The efforts to dig up corpses buried in Khan Younis sparked demands for answers from Israeli leaders.
The discovery of more than 300 bodies in two mass graves at hospitals in Gaza has prompted the European Union to support a UN call for an independent investigation. This comes following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.
Meanwhile, in a move that would further increase the Palestinian death toll, a senior Israeli official has announced their intention to proceed with its planned ground invasion of Rafah, despite mounting international warnings urging restraint and calling for an end to Isreal’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza. With 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in fear of a planned Israeli ground invasion, Israeli military officials confirm that the invasion is moving ahead.
Five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in the latest Israeli airstrike on a residential building in southern Gaza’s Rafah city.
US President Joe Biden appointed a new special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues. Lise Grande, currently heading the independent US Institute of Peace, is set to replace David Satterfield in this role. With 25 years of experience at the United Nations, Grande spearheaded aid operations in conflict zones such as Yemen, Iraq, and South Sudan.
Biden also signed into law a $95 billion security package, allocating $26 billion in military support for Israel alongside $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
A top Hamas official, Khalil al-Hayya, expressed Hamas’ willingness to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and transform into a political party if a two-state solution is implemented. Al-Hayya emphasised Hamas’ desire to participate in the formation of a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank.
In other development, a new United Nations-led mechanism for monitoring aid routes is set to be operational within days to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Sigrid Kaag, the UN’s senior humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, expects the mechanism to initially monitor aid traveling via Cyprus and Jordan, with plans to expand to aid entering through Egypt shortly after. Kaag expressed hope that Israel will assist in facilitating the new routes for aid shipments to Gaza.
Since 7 October, Israel has killed at least 34,305 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 77,293.