LONDON: An investigation by Sky News suggests Israel is likely responsible for the mass grave discovered at a hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis over the weekend.

Local authorities reported uncovering 283 bodies in the mass grave within the courtyard of Nasser Hospital after the Israel Defense Forces withdrew from the area on April 7.

Israel’s military dismissed claims of burying bodies there as “baseless” but confirmed that it had “examined” some bodies during a two-week operation at the hospital.

Analysis of satellite imagery and social media indicates that Palestinians buried their dead in mass graves during Israel’s siege of Nasser Hospital and that the IDF bulldozed these graves after taking control.

Prior to the Israeli army’s takeover of the hospital compound in its full-scale operation in February, staff had been forced to bury hundreds of bodies in makeshift graves near the hospital’s main building due to the impossibility of reaching nearby cemeteries.

The IDF began exhuming and examining bodies buried in the compound based on intelligence sources indicating the presence of bodies belonging to Israeli hostages.

The army said the examination “was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased.

“Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place,” the IDF added.

However, Sky News’ Data and Forensic team discovered evidence indicating extensive damage to the sites caused by the army’s examination.

Footage uploaded a few days after the IDF left Nasser Hospital showed significant destruction at the southeastern corner of the complex, where some of the mass graves had been dug.

Another video revealed that bulldozer operations in the area caused an arm to be visible, partially buried in a mound of earth.

Satellite images confirmed that the damage occurred while Israeli forces were occupying the complex between Feb. 15 and 22.

The UN’s human rights chief expressed horror at the discovery and announced an investigation into claims that some of the bodies had their hands bound and were stripped of clothing.

Earlier last week, other mass graves were found at Al-Shifa, the largest medical facility in the coastal enclave.

The discovery led the Hamas-run government to accuse Israel of digging the graves “to hide its crimes.”

Since the conflict began, with retaliatory acts toward Hamas fighters killing and kidnapping 1,200 Israelis, Tel Aviv has launched a bloody, full-scale operation into the Gaza Strip that has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 people, mostly women and children.

LONDON: PEN America has cancelled its 2024 annual literary awards after several authors boycotted the event over the organization’s perceived failure to take a strong stance against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The decision came in response to an open letter signed by dozens of authors and translators who withdrew their work from consideration for the awards.

Sixty-one authors and translators were nominated but 28 withdrew their work, according to a statement released on Monday, forcing the organization to cancel next week’s event.

“This is a beloved event and an enormous amount of work goes into it, so we all regret this outcome but ultimately concluded it was not possible to carry out a celebration in the way we had hoped and planned,” said CEO Suzanne Nossel.

The boycott emerged amidst growing tensions with PEN, with authors urging the organization to take a stronger stance on the Palestinian crisis and advocate for a Gaza ceasefire.

In the letter, PEN was accused of acting as a “cultural front for American exceptionalism” and complicity in “normalizing genocide” by failing to address the situation in Gaza adequately.

“In the context of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, we believe that PEN America has betrayed the organization’s professed commitment to peace and equality for all, and to freedom and security for writers everywhere,” said a separate letter signed last month by several famous writers including Michelle Alexander, Naomi Klein and Zaina Arafat.

PEN America has defended its actions, citing its recent condemnation of the loss of life in Gaza, calls for a ceasefire, and the establishment of a $100,000 emergency fund for Palestinian writers.

The awards, which celebrates voices across various genres including writers of fiction, poetry, children’s literature and drama, was scheduled for April 29 at the Town Hall in New York City.