Random mass graves: A phenomenon in Gaza due to Israeli genocide

GAZA, (PIC)

In multiple locations in the Gaza Strip, mass graves have been established to bury hundreds of martyrs killed by Israeli occupation forces during the genocide. This has occurred due to the inability to transfer them to official cemeteries.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has documented many details about these graves, indicating that as Israel continues to commit murder against Palestinians, particularly mass killings, thousands of families are resorting to burying their loved ones in newly created random mass graves. This has become a phenomenon, worsening as the Israeli occupation army continuously targets individuals attempting to reach the graves to bury their relatives.

The Euro-Med Monitor presented an infographic on Wednesday detailing the locations and dates of the establishment of around 30 random mass graves containing approximately 3,000 martyrs and deceased individuals in the northern, central, and southern governorates of Gaza, serving as a model of the situation regarding mass graves in the enclave.

It noted that, on the ground, there are more than 120 random mass graves where three or more individuals have been buried, established in Gaza since October 2023. Most of these random graves remain undocumented, with many located inside homes and private areas, and some are periodically relocated to different sites. Thus, the number and locations of these graves are continuously changing, according to the Euro-Med Monitor.

The Israeli occupation army consistently demolishes these graves and official cemeteries, disfiguring the bodies of the victims and confiscating some, which constitutes a serious violation of international law.

The Euro-Med Monitor pointed out that the largest mass grave it documented is the Al-Batesh grave in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, which contains between 500 and 1,000 bodies buried since its establishment on October 22, 2023, just two weeks after the military assault on Gaza began.

The first mass grave appeared in the Shifa Medical Complex on October 15, 2023, due to the inability to transfer the martyrs and deceased to the official cemetery in Gaza City, which is located east of Gaza. Subsequently, the establishment of these graves continued until their number exceeded 120.

Continuous military attacks by the occupation, along with direct targeting through shelling, sniping, or fire from drone aircraft, have prevented families from accessing the main cemeteries to bury their loved ones properly, in a manner befitting human dignity. This also makes the process of counting, recording, and identifying victims nearly impossible.

The Euro-Med Monitor noted that these graves are distributed across residential neighborhoods, home courtyards, roads, wedding halls, sports fields, hospital yards, schools, mosques, agricultural lands, and even public intersections.

A field researcher from the Euro-Med Monitor in Gaza stated, “Random mass graves have become somewhat of a phenomenon in Gaza, seen on roads, in traffic islands, and near markets and residential buildings haphazardly. Residents resort to using various tools as grave markers to write the names of the victims instead of cement and stones, including plastic food trays, barrels or plastic jugs, wooden or paper boards, and other household items.”

Families are forced to create these random graves due to the difficulty of accessing main cemeteries because of ongoing shelling and targeting of individuals, in addition to the division of the enclave, the imposition of a blockade, destruction of infrastructure, fuel shortages, and transportation issues. Furthermore, the main cemeteries have filled up with bodies due to the large and increasing number of victims.

The Euro-Med Monitor stated that some documented mass graves contain the bodies of individuals who remain unidentified, despite being buried months ago during the ongoing genocide against Gaza. The teams of the Euro-Med Monitor have documented 29 random mass graves in various governorates of the Gaza Strip, as follows:

North Gaza governorate:

1. Mass grave at Al-Awda Market, next to the police station in Jabalia Camp, established on December 5, 2023, containing about 120 bodies.
2. Mass grave near Indonesian Hospital in Tal Al-Zaatar, north of Jabalia Camp, established on November 18, 2023, containing about 200 bodies.
3. Mass grave in Jabalia market, established on December 7, 2023, containing about 100 bodies.
4. Mass grave on Al-Hudhud street, connecting southern Jabalia Market to Sultan Studio intersection, established on December 25, 2023, containing about 28 bodies.
5. Mass grave in the backyard of Jabalia Preparatory School (A), established on December 28, 2023, containing more than 55 bodies.
6. Mass grave at Al-Rifai school opposite Omar Al-Mukhtar, containing more than 70 bodies.
7. Mass grave at Halima Al-Sadiya school south of Jabalia Al-Nazla, containing more than 250 bodies, some of which are unidentified.
8. Mass grave at Yemen Hospital in the middle of Jabalia Camp, established on December 11, 2023, containing about 44 bodies.
9. Mass grave on a traffic island along Sultan Street in Block (2) in Jabalia, established in November 2023.

Gaza City Governorate:

10. Mass grave in Shifa Medical Complex, established between November 12-14, 2023, containing about 179 bodies.
11. Mass grave at Al-Sabra (1), established on November 25, 2023, containing more than 100 bodies.
12. Mass grave on Al-Istiqlal Street (the arch) near Al-Shuhadaa intersection in Al-Daraj neighborhood, containing more than 200 bodies.
13. Mass grave at Al-Sabra (2) near Al-Dahshan Street, established on December 31, 2023.
14. Mass grave at Al-Batesh in Al-Tuffah neighborhood, established on October 22, 2023, containing between 500 and 1,000 bodies.
15. Mass grave in the middle of Al-Sahaba Street, near Al-Qassam Mosque in Al-Daraj, established in December 2023, containing 150 bodies.
16. Mass grave on Al-Sidra Street in Al-Daraj, established in December 2023, containing about 20 bodies.
17. Mass grave at Al-Shuheiber in Al-Sabra, established on November 18, 2023, containing about 100-120 bodies.
18. Mass grave at Al-Ishtiwai in Al-Zeitoun, established on November 21, 2023, containing about 15 bodies.
19. Mass grave near Al-Shawa Square east of Gaza City.

Deir al-Balah Governorate (Central Gaza Strip):

20. Mass grave in an UNRWA school in Al-Bureij Camp, established on January 14-15, 2024.
21. Mass grave at the girls’ preparatory school in Al-Maghazi Camp, established on January 9, 2024, containing about 14 bodies.

Khan Yunis Governorate (Southern Gaza Strip):

22. Mass grave in West Khan Yunis, established on November 22, 2023, containing about 111 bodies.
23. Mass grave at Abdul Karim Al-Karmi School, in Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, established on January 14, 2024, containing about 9 bodies.
24. Three mass graves at Nasser Hospital, established in January 2023, containing about 392 bodies.
25. Mass grave at Al-Amal Hospital, established on January 29, 2024, containing about 4 bodies.
26. Mass grave at Al-Aqsa University, established on January 22, 2024.
27. Mass grave at UNRWA Vocational Training College in western Khan Yunis, established on January 23, 2024, containing about 14 bodies.
28. Al-Agha Mass grave, established by the Al-Agha family on their land after the Israeli army destroyed the family’s main cemetery in the Austrian neighborhood, established on January 22, 2024.

Rafah Governorate (Southern Gaza Strip):

29. Mass grave in Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood, west of Rafah, established in December 2023, containing about 80 bodies.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirms that its teams have documented the Israeli occupation army’s attacks on dozens of cemeteries since the beginning of military operations. These attacks include deliberate bombings, targeting, exhumation, and desecration of graves, as well as the confiscation of dozens of bodies of the deceased and the killed. Such violations of main cemeteries are another reason for residents to resort to the creation of new random graves and to transfer the bodies of their relatives there.

The Euro-Med Monitor emphasized that Israel imposes inhumane conditions on the residents of the Gaza Strip, constituting a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which mandates respect for the dignity of the deceased and proper treatment of their bodies. This is especially outlined in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which states in Article 17 that the parties to the conflict are obliged to “take the necessary measures to ensure the proper burial of the dead and to protect their honor.”

The Monitor called on the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to fulfill their roles in ensuring the dignity of bodies buried in the dozens of mass graves in Gaza and to secure their burial according to international standards.

The Euro-Med Monitor reiterated the necessity for the international community to compel Israel to adhere to international law, which stipulates the need to respect and protect the bodies during armed conflicts. It stressed the importance of taking all possible measures to prevent the degradation of the dignity of the dead and the desecration of their bodies, as well as ensuring their proper burial. Furthermore, it called for international pressure on Israel to immediately halt the genocidal actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to hold it accountable for all the crimes and serious violations it has committed.