The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights affirmed this Wednesday that Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas committed war crimes during the conflict they have been fighting since October 7, hoping that those responsible will be brought to justice.
“The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on October 7 were heinous, brutal and shocking. They were war crimes, as was the continued holding of hostages,” Volker Türk said during a press conference in Cairo.
Likewise, he indicated that “Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians also constitutes a war crime, as does the forced and illegal evacuation of civilians,” in relation to calls by Israeli authorities for Gazans to flee to southern Gaza. the Gaza Strip.
“I hope we find closure and bring the culprits to justice,” the high commissioner said.
Likewise, he regretted that “Israel’s massive bombings have killed, maimed and injured especially women and children,” noting that in a month of war more than 10,500 people died in the enclave, including more than 4,300 children and 2,800 women, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, territory controlled by Hamas since 2007
“We have fallen off a cliff. This cannot continue,” lamented the UN leader, who visited this Wednesday the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip with Egypt and is the only border post through which humanitarian aid can flow. to the enclave.
Turk also insisted that “the world cannot afford double standards” and that “universal standards” must prevail in addressing this war, such as international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
“These rules are clear: the parties to the conflict have the obligation to constantly ensure the protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, which remains applicable during attacks,” Türk said, adding that “the actions of one party do not “exempt the other from its obligations.”
Regarding the resolution of the conflict, the UN High Commissioner maintained that it is extremely important to allow “the political space to implement a lasting end to the occupation”, based on the rights of Palestinians and Israelis “to self-determination.”
“It is no longer enough to simply say that the 56-year occupation must end. The international community must participate in the search for a just and equitable future for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,” said the United Nations human rights chief.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel with the launch of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militiamen, taking more than two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States, bombing several of the group’s infrastructure in the Gaza Strip before launching an incursion. ground in the enclave and imposing a total siege of the territory with water, fuel and electricity supply cuts.
The conflict has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries, between soldiers and civilians, in both territories.
Source: TSF
