Geneva [Switzerland] / Gaza [Palestine], September 9: The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, sharply criticised Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip on Monday and called for a halt to weapons transfers that could be used to violate the laws of war.
Opening a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Türk accused Israel of committing "war crime upon war crime" and said the international community was failing to act.
"We need action now to end the carnage," Türk said. "The international community is failing in its duty. We are failing the Palestinian people of Gaza."
He said countries "must stop the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war," and called for "maximum pressure" to be exerted on the sides in order to achieve a ceasefire.
Türk further said Israel must be held accountable before the International Court of Justice for its conduct, citing the "mass killing" of Palestinians, widespread destruction and the "indescribable suffering" of civilians.
"I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric and the disgraceful dehumanisation of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials," he added.
On the massacre of Israelis by Palestinian armed groups and the taking of hostages that triggered the Gaza war nearly two years ago, Türk said: "Israel remains in deep trauma after the horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups" and "the continued holding of hostages."
Israel's mission in Geneva accused Türk of pursuing "anti-Israel activism." Ambassador Daniel Meron said in a statement that the commissioner "continues to spread libellous rhetoric and undermines the security of the Jewish state."
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Monday killed at least 40 people and destroyed another high-rise in Gaza City, bringing the number of buildings razed during its campaign to seize the largest urban centre in the Gaza Strip to at least 50.
Among the dead was Osama Balousha, a journalist for Palestinian media, medics said.
Nearly 250 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip during the war, according to Palestinian authorities, making it by far the world's deadliest war for news media in living memory. Israel bars all foreign reporters from Gaza, so all journalists killed there have been Palestinians. Palestinian officials say Israel has deliberately targeted some journalists.
The Israeli military has issued a statement claiming the latest high-rise building it has levelled in Gaza City was being used by Hamas operatives.
The post provided no evidence to support the claims, as was the case with all of the buildings it has destroyed over the last days and weeks.
Meanwhile, six more Palestinians, including two children, have died of starvation and severe malnutrition in the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Famine-related deaths since October 2023 now stand at at least 393, including 140 children, the ministry added in a statement.
According to the ministry, 115 of the deaths, 25 of them children, occurred after the UN-backed hunger monitoring system Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) formally declared Gaza a famine zone last month.
Source: Qatar Tribune
