SA calls for probe after reports of mass graves of Palestinian civilians in Gaza

The department of international relations and cooperation says reports about the discovery of mass graves in Gaza calls for immediate and comprehensive investigations to ensure justice and accountability.

Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops, Reuters reports. Bodies were also reported at the Al Shifa medical site after an Israeli special forces operation. The gravesite at Nasser Hospital reportedly contained the remains of 202 Palestinian civilians.

“Israel continues to disregard the rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and UN resolutions unabated amid the unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, particularly the ICJ’s ruling which granted South Africa’s urgent request of March 6 for further provisional measures to prevent Israel from causing irreparable harm to the rights invoked by South Africa under the 1948 Genocide Convention in respect of the ongoing siege of Gaza,” said the department.

According to the department, the court was unambiguous when it agreed with South Africa’s assertion that the situation in Gaza had deteriorated significantly since the court’s order of January 26 as a result of Israel’s failure and responsibility to comply with the court's rulings. 

The lack of accountability by Israel is increasingly clear, it said. 

“South Africa concurs with the assertion made by the UN's special rapporteur on the right to health, Tlaleng Mofokeng, when she aptly stated Israel's war in Gaza has from the start been a 'war on the right to health' and has 'obliterated' the Palestinian territory's health system.

“We further concur with the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, when she recently highlighted the continuation of Israel's impunity and exceptionalism is no longer viable, especially in light of the binding UN Security Council resolution 2728 which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“In this respect, we call on the international community to act to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure accountability for the victims and their families.

“We note the evidence of mass killings of civilians points to the perpetration of war crimes, crimes against humanity, including murder and extermination, and genocide as defined in the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, specifically the fourth Geneva convention relative to the protection of civilian people in time of war, as well as customary international humanitarian law,” the department said.  International humanitarian law prohibits attacks on civilians and non-combatants, underlining the need to protect human life during times of war, it said.

The ICC has jurisdiction over the situation in Palestine, the department said. It has called on the office of the prosecutor of the ICC to urgently lead a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter that complies with international legal standards to establish the facts and bring those responsible to justice.

“It is the collective duty of the international community to ensure atrocities of this nature are duly prosecuted in terms of the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions.”

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