Explainer: What do we know about mass graves in Gaza?

Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Anthony Deutsch and Stephanie van den Berg

The discovery of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals, said by Palestinian authorities to contain hundreds of bodies, have triggered calls by the U.N. rights chief and others for an international investigation.

While not defined under international law, a mass grave is a burial site containing multiple bodies, the existence of which could be important in detecting possible war crimes.