Israel excavates graves in Gaza to find hostages

Israeli forces have exhumed graves in a cemetery in Khan Younis and removed bodies in a bid to find and identify hostages taken by Hamas.

Video recently surfaced on social media showing a cemetery in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis being flattened, with graves damaged and destroyed, and human remains exposed after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted operations in the area.

Satellite imagery of the cemetery taken by Maxar on January 15 shows the cemetery undisturbed, meaning the area was impacted between then and January 17.

News of the IDF taking bodies from graves had spread on social media earlier, causing outrage among many.

Israel Excavates Graves in Gaza to Find Hostage

A cemetery in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, was flattened after an Israeli military operation to exhume graves this week. Video: X/Holistic, Middle East Eye

Responding to the video, the IDF said on January 18 that rescuing hostages, as well as finding and returning their bodies, is one of the most important tasks of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. That is why the bodies were taken away.

Under international law, a deliberate attack on a cemetery could be considered a war crime, except in cases where the site becomes a military target.

According to the IDF, when they receive important intelligence or operational information, they will conduct operations at locations where hostage bodies may be found.

This is the first time the IDF has admitted to exhuming graves in Gaza. The IDF operation around the cemetery area, which includes the Al Nasser hospital complex and Jordan's field hospital, has caused panic among residents. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 7,000 people are sheltering in the Al Nasser complex.

A man inspects destroyed graves in a cemetery in Khan Younis city, southern Gaza on January 17. Photo: Reuters

The Jordanian armed forces said the field hospital they run, located next to the cemetery in Khan Younis, had suffered “severe damage” due to “continuous Israeli bombardment around the hospital on the night of January 16 and morning of January 17”.

The IDF accused Hamas of recently launching a rocket from the Al Nasser hospital compound against Israeli forces in Khan Younis. "IDF commandos operated in the Khan Younis area to locate and destroy Hamas infrastructure," the IDF said.

Huyen Le (According to CNN , Times of Israel , NBC )

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