UNITED NATIONS: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres expressed alarm on Tuesday over reports of mass graves discovered in Gaza including at two hospitals and allegations those buried there were unlawfully killed, as he demanded an independent investigation.
"It is imperative that independent international investigators with forensic expertise are allowed the immediate access to the sites of these mass graves to establish the precise circumstances under which the Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied," Guterres said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli captives.
Expectations that a ceasefire agreement could be in sight have grown in recent days following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
However, Netanyahu said that with or without a deal, Israel intended to pursue the operation in Rafah, where more than one million Gaza Palestinians displaced from their homes amid Israeli military operations elsewhere since October have been seeking shelter.
Earlier, a person close to Netanyahu said Israel has been waiting for Hamas to respond to the latest ceasefire proposals tabled by Egypt, one of several foreign mediators, before sending a team to Cairo to continue talks.
With US Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to arrive in Tel Aviv following a visit to Riyadh, pressure has been building for an agreement to stop the war that has devastated Gaza as it nears the end of its seventh month.
But so far there has been little sign of agreement on the most fundamental difference between the two sides - the Hamas demand that any deal must ensure a withdrawal of troops and a permanent end to the Israeli operation in Gaza.
"We can't tell our people the occupation will stay or the fight will resume after Israel regains its prisoners," said a Palestinian official from a group. "Our people want this aggression to end."
For Netanyahu, any move is likely to be affected by divisions in his coalition cabinet between ministers pressing to bring home at least some of the 133 Israeli captives left in Gaza, and hardliners insisting on the long-promised assault on Rafah. SEE ALSO P6
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