Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 17
The UN human rights chief on Tuesday decried the latest series of Israeli strikes on Gaza killing mostly women and children.
Volker Turk’s remarks came after at least nine children among 16 Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli bombing targeting several homes east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
“The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed – this is beyond warfare,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a UN briefing in Geneva, reading Turk’s statement on the matter.
Turk reiterated such an operation to Rafah would lead to further breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as it would “risk more deaths, injuries and displacement on a large scale – even further atrocity crimes, for which those responsible would be held accountable.”
He also said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the Nasser Hospital and Al Shifa Hospital and the reported discovery of mass graves in and around these locations, calling for “independent, effective and transparent” investigations into the deaths.
“What we need is an immediate cease-fire,” she reiterated.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Source: Anadolu Agency
