EU, UN call for probe into reported mass graves at Gaza hospitals
Semafor Signals
Insights from Sky News, Le Monde, The Conversation, and Human Rights Watch
The News
The European Union and United Nations called for an independent probe into the reported discovery of mass graves near two Gaza hospitals that were raided by Israeli forces.
Palestinian authorities have said more than 300 bodies were found in and around Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals, some bound and stripped of clothing. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied that they buried the bodies, saying they were exhumed after the military received intelligence that the bodies of multiple Israeli hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack were in the area.
The UN human rights chief said he was “horrified” by the reports, adding that any “intentional killing” of civilians and detainees would constitute a war crime.
SIGNALS
Satellite imagery shows IDF bulldozed site
Source: Sky News
Israel’s military said it had examined the bodies “respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased,” and those that were not identified as belonging to Israelis were returned. Satellite imagery collected by Sky News, however, shows that the sites were bulldozed, with “extensive” damage to the area, the broadcaster said. Videos posted on social media that were reviewed by Sky also showed bulldozers in the area, and track marks running over the complex, during the IDF’s occupation of the hospital sites in February.
Not the first allegations of war crimes in Gaza
Sources: Le Monde, Human Rights Watch
The mass grave reports have added to fears about war crimes being committed in Gaza. The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch earlier said that it has observed Israeli forces carrying out “indiscriminate and disproportionate” attacks in Gaza which amount to collective punishment. In Le Monde, Benjamin Barthe also noted widespread civilian deaths through the Israel’s military’s use of “dumb bombs” that aren’t designed for precision strikes and target the family homes of possible Hamas combatants. “In the name of eradicating Hamas, the Israeli government has presided over a massive escalation of civilian murders in the Gaza Strip,” he argued.
AI used by IDF means margin of error could be high
Source: The Conversation
The IDF has used artificial intelligence to carry out strikes on possible Hamas combatants in Gaza, using tools it says have an accuracy rate of 90%. The 10% misidentification rate, though, means widespread civilian deaths, researchers Lauren Gould, Linde Arentze, and Marijn Hoijtink noted in The Conversation. AI-led strikes “appear more objective and statistically correct due to the value that we generally ascribe to computer-based systems,” they wrote. Their algorithms focus on characteristics that the IDF believes belong to possible Hamas operatives, such as frequent address or phone number changes, or a presence in WhatsApp groups with known militants. But as civilians have fled their homes, they are also likely to change their contact details, the authors added: “These civilians, thereby unknowingly, make themselves suspect for lethal targeting.”
