In a statement, the OIC said the discovery is an indication that "hundreds of displaced, injured and the sick as well as medical convoys were subjected to forms of torture and abuse before they were executed and given mass burial."
It said it considers the mass grave as evidence of a "war crime, a crime against humanity, and organized state terrorism," adding that such mass murder "requires investigation, accountability and sanction under international criminal law."
"The OIC renewed its call on the international community, in particular the (UN) Security Council, on the need to stop the war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people,” it added, Anadolu Agency reported.
At least 283 bodies have been recovered so far from the mass grave at Nasser Medical Complex after the Israeli military withdrew from the city on April 7 following a four-month ground offensive, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency.
Israel waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 last year. At least 34,151 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,000 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
SD/PR
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