White House Says ‘We Want Answers’ Over Reports of Mass Graves in Gaza

People and health workers unearth bodies found at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People and health workers unearth bodies found at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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White House Says ‘We Want Answers’ Over Reports of Mass Graves in Gaza

People and health workers unearth bodies found at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People and health workers unearth bodies found at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

US officials have been in touch with Israeli counterparts about deeply disturbing reports of mass graves being found in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday.

"Those reports were deeply disturbing," Sullivan said at a news briefing. "We have been in touch at multiple levels with the Israeli government. We want answers. We want to understand exactly what happened."

UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday he was "horrified" by the destruction of the Nasser and Al-Shifa medical facilities in Gaza and reports of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies there, according to a spokesperson.

Palestinian authorities reported finding hundreds of bodies in mass graves at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis this week after it was abandoned by Israeli troops. Bodies were also reported at the Al-Shifa site following an Israeli special forces operation.



Kremlin Says It Wants Syria to Swiftly Restore Order after Opposition Attack

Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
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Kremlin Says It Wants Syria to Swiftly Restore Order after Opposition Attack

Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
Fighters take over the district of Khan al-Assal following fierce fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition forces along with their Turkish-backed allies in the northern Syrian Aleppo province, on November 29, 2024. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order in the Aleppo region as soon as possible after an insurgent offensive there that captured territory for the first time in years.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, intervened militarily on Assad's side against insurgents in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.
Opposition led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northwestern province of Aleppo, which is controlled by Assad's forces.
It was the first such territorial advance since March 2020 when Russia and Türkiye, which supports the opposition, agreed to a ceasefire that led to the halting of military action in Syria's last major opposition stronghold in the northwest.
Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed an opposition-held area near the border with Türkiye on Thursday to try to push back the insurgents, Syrian army and opposition sources said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow regarded the attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty and wanted the authorities to act fast to regain control.
"As for the situation around Aleppo, it is an attack on Syrian sovereignty and we are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible," said Peskov.
Asked about unconfirmed Russian Telegram reports that Assad had flown into Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" on the matter.