UN calls for international probe into deaths at Gaza hospitals

The United Nations rights office said it was "horrified" by the destruction of Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa in Gaza City, and its second-largest, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

The UN called on Tuesday (Apr 23) for an international investigation into reports of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals destroyed in Israeli sieges, saying war crimes may have been committed.

The United Nations rights office said it was "horrified" by the destruction of Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa in Gaza City, and its second-largest, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

On Monday, the Palestinian territory's Civil Defence agency said health workers had uncovered more than 200 bodies of people killed and buried at Nasser Hospital, which was besieged by Israeli troops last month.

In early April the World Health Organization said Al-Shifa had been destroyed by an Israeli siege, leaving an "empty shell" containing many bodies.

The UN rights office on Tuesday demanded "independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths".

"Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Hospitals, which are protected under international law, have repeatedly come under Israeli bombardment over more than six months of war in Gaza.