Israel Resists International Probe into Gaza Mass Graves: Former HRW Chief

Roth, now a visiting professor at Princeton University, emphasized the possibility of conducting such investigations even during conflicts, stressing the need for cooperation from both sides. However, he noted Israel's reluctance to permit independent inquiries.

According to Roth, Israel prefers to either downplay the issue or conduct internal investigations, often resulting in no one being held accountable.

Calls for an independent probe have come from the UN, the EU, and the US, particularly following the discovery of 392 bodies, some showing signs of being bound, stripped, and shot in the head.

While the US has supported an investigation, it has not insisted on its independence, Roth pointed out.

Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general's spokesperson stressed the importance of preserving forensic evidence from Gaza's mass graves, but highlighted the need for a mandate from a UN legislative group to legally possess such material for an international investigation.

A senior officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service, Pehr Lodhammar, stated at a briefing in Geneva that Israel's recent devastating war has left approximately 37 million tons of debris in Gaza, including unexploded ordnance.

Lodhammar highlighted the challenges in estimating the exact number of unexploded ordnance in the densely populated territory but projected it could take up to 14 years, under certain conditions, to clear the debris.

The rubble includes remnants of buildings destroyed in Israel's bombardment, leaving much of Gaza as a wasteland and leaving most civilians homeless, hungry, and vulnerable to disease.

Lodhammar emphasized that there's typically a failure rate of at least 10 percent for land service ammunition, adding that the clearance effort would require 14 years of work with 100 trucks.

Since October 7, Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 34,356 Palestinians and wounded 77,368 others.