Palestinians check damaged graves at a cemetery following an Israeli raid in Khan Younis, Gaza, on January 17.
So, Israeli forces made their way into the area, causing quite a stir. They ended up doing some serious damage to a cemetery, even bulldozing parts of it. Reports say they were on a mission to find and retrieve the remains of hostages taken by Hamas during a terror attack back on October 7.
Footage of the cemetery is pretty shocking - graves wrecked, human remains exposed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) came forward, saying it's all part of their effort to rescue hostages. According to them, they've got a process to identify and handle the deceased with respect.
Now, here's where it gets tricky - messing with a cemetery could be considered a war crime under international law unless there's a legitimate reason tied to military objectives. IDF claims they only act on "critical intelligence or operational information."
Apparently, this isn't the first time rumours of IDF removing bodies from graves have been floating around, but it's the first time they're owning up to it.
Israel says 253 people were taken hostage by Hamas, and they believe 132 are still in Gaza, with some unfortunately losing their lives.
The situation around the cemetery also caused panic in the Al Nasser compound, where around 7,000 people are seeking shelter. Israeli forces even headed towards a hospital, leading to a mass exodus of people carrying their belongings.
The IDF says they're on a mission to dismantle terror infrastructure, pointing to recent attacks by Hamas from the hospital compound. This whole operation has caused damage to a Jordanian field hospital near the cemetery.
It's a complex and tense situation, and folks are expressing their concerns about the impact on civilians. We'll be keeping an eye on how things unfold. Stay tuned for more updates.
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