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Uncovering the Story Behind the Gazan ‘Mass Graves’
Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Over the past week, Palestinian teams have been unearthing mass graves outside two Gaza medical complexes, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces who were conducting counter-terrorism operations in the area.
With the opening of these graves, social media and some traditional news outlets have been abuzz with claims that these graves are evidence of mass killings of Palestinians by Israelis, and that some of those found inside the graves show signs of being tortured and killed execution-style with their hands tied behind their backs.
However, much like other sensationalist news stories about Israel’s conduct during its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, the story of the mass graves being propounded online and by some media outlets is a mixture of deception, falsehoods, and a reliance on biased sources.
The mass grave lie is being promoted by Hamas and its Western propagandists to distract attention from the fact that Gaza hospitals have been proven, time and again, to host terrorists and terror activity.
Hospital directors have admitted as much.
Why isn’t that being reported? https://t.co/jHDVxBkjcQ pic.twitter.com/K5xoSnQuXX
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) April 24, 2024
What Is the Story Behind the Mass Graves?
Much of the news regarding the mass graves has surrounded the exhumation of hundreds of bodies on the grounds of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
However, unlike what is being claimed, these mass graves were not dug by Israeli forces during their months-long siege and battle against Hamas terrorists operating within the medical complex.
Rather, these graves were dug by Palestinians prior to the arrival of the Israeli military in mid-February 2024.
Analysts have observed that these mass graves which are now being unearthed were documented as first being dug and used in late January and early February 2024 to bury people who had died in the hospital and could not be transported to a formal cemetery for internment.
As the battle between Israel and Hamas intensified around the medical complex, it is possible that newer bodies (of those who had been killed during the firefight or who had died at the hospital during the battle) were added to these mass graves. However, as noted by The Times of Israel, it is uncharacteristic for the IDF to “tend to the bodies of slain Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Thus, if newer bodies were added to these mass graves over the course of the IDF’s operations in the area, it is likely that they were buried by Palestinians and not by Israelis.
1/5 Geolocation | Disproof of Palestinian lies about Nasser Hospital mass graves.
Fake claims by @tamerqdh about #IDF-caused massacre.
In Jan/Feb, this exact place was used by palestinians as temporary cemetry.
I found a burial video of 30+ persons on 28 January. >> https://t.co/l8UMI95NWA pic.twitter.com/k7Dnlo0RqV
— Middle East Buka (@MiddleEastBuka) April 22, 2024
Alongside the false claims that Israel had dug these mass graves, representatives of Hamas in Gaza and the Hamas-affiliated Civil Defense have claimed that Israel dug up graves in the Nasser Hospital complex and then re-buried the deceased in these mass graves.
However, according to the IDF, while Israeli forces did exhume certain graves in order to determine whether dead Israeli hostages had been buried by Hamas in these graves, they did not desecrate the graves nor remove identifying markers.
After it had been determined that no hostages were buried on the grounds, the exhumed bodies were re-interred in their burial locations “in an orderly and proper manner.”
The deceitful claim that the IDF buried Palestinians in mass graves, not based whatsoever on facts, is wrong.
See full statement: pic.twitter.com/WX7aVx8M1h
— LTC (S.) Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) April 23, 2024
A third claim that has been put forth about these mass graves is that some of the exhumed bodies have had their hands tied, allegedly proof for Israeli extrajudicial executions of Palestinians in the area.
However, there are several factors that call into question these allegations: No evidence has been provided for these claims, with only unverified reports alleging the existence of these bodies with their hands tied. These claims are not being put forward by impartial observers but by Hamas and its Gaza-based affiliates. If these bodies do exist, there is no evidence that Israel is responsible for their being bound.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence for the existence of these handcuffed corpses, even by a UN representative’s own admission, this has not stopped the UN from portraying their existence as solid fact, even headlining one of its releases “Mass graves in Gaza show victims’ hands were tied, says UN rights office.”
This unabashed reliance on Hamas reports has helped give these stories an air of legitimacy despite their being propounded by an internationally-recognized terror organization.
How Has the Media Covered the Mass Graves?
As the story of the mass graves continues to develop, media organizations have covered this story with varying levels of nuance and accuracy.
Predictably, Al Jazeera’s coverage was most in line with Hamas’ propaganda, uncritically parroting statements by the Civil Defense in Gaza as well as international leaders responding to the reports released by Hamas.
Only one paragraph is granted to the IDF’s denial that it had dug mass graves, and at no point is it stated as fact that these mass graves had been dug prior to the Israeli operation at Nasser Hospital.
In their reports, both Reuters and CNN provided fairly nuanced coverage, giving ample space to the IDF’s statements refuting the allegations against it, and admitting that some of the charges put forward by the Palestinians could not be substantiated.
However, in its coverage of the mass graves, the Associated Press provided a far less objective report, only including the IDF’s rebuttal seven paragraphs in, ignoring the fact that the reports on the mass graves were being released by a Hamas-affiliated body, and using the term “could not be independently verified” for Israel’s allegations but not those put forward by the Civil Defense or international bodies.
Thus, despite the unsubstantiated and biased information being released by the Civil Defense, AP treated it as fact while calling into question Israel’s response to these baseless allegations.
In its report on the mass graves, The Times presented the allegations of bodies with bound hands as established fact by quoting UN officials, despite the fact that these officials were basing themselves on Hamas reports and there was no physical evidence to corroborate these claims.
This is an appalling segment from @amanpour
It repeatedly cites the Gaza Civil Defense (that’s a fancy way of saying Hamas) and fails to mention that Hamas hid Israeli hostages in Gaza hospitals.
The IDF acknowledged that it examined bodies buried near Nasser Hospital when they… https://t.co/rmqTYOibUh
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 24, 2024
While the mainstream media coverage of the mass graves has featured various levels of nuance and objectivity, social media has served as a source for the most extreme takes on this subject, with many uncritically parroting Hamas’ claims and using them as a cudgel with which to harm Israel’s reputation and the IDF’s integrity.
If you’re more mad about the college campus protests against mass graves than against the mass graves themselves you should probably take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 25, 2024
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Uncovering the Story Behind the Gazan ‘Mass Graves’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases

US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.