UN: Gaza war is “carnage” – Hamas authority: more than 30,000 dead
Published: Thursday, Feb 29th 2024, 12:31
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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has described the ongoing attacks in the Gaza Strip as "carnage". The Hamas-controlled health authority announced on Thursday that 81 people had been killed and 132 others injured in the past 24 hours alone.
Since the beginning of the Israeli military offensive in October, 30,035 people have now been killed and 70,457 wounded. Türk cited the casualty figures before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and said that tens of thousands were also missing and presumably buried under the rubble of their homes. "This is carnage."
The Hamas figures cannot be independently verified. However, the United Nations and other observers point out that the authority's figures have proven to be generally credible in the past.
Türk once again condemned the trigger for the Israeli military offensive: the massacres carried out by Palestinian extremists in Israel on October 7 and the abduction of civilians as hostages in the Gaza Strip. He also condemned "the brutality of the Israeli response". "The war in Gaza must end," Türk demanded. "All parties have committed clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law. It is time - long overdue - for peace, clarification and accountability."
Israel had deployed thousands of tons of ammunition in densely populated residential areas in the Gaza Strip. These included weapons that caused widespread damage, said Türk. Such weapons produced a massive blast wave that could rupture human organs and cause deep burns. "Over the past five months of war, the office has recorded numerous incidents indicating war crimes by Israeli forces, as well as evidence that Israeli forces have targeted indiscriminately or disproportionately, in violation of international humanitarian law," Türk said. The blocking of aid deliveries and thus the use of starvation as a method of war, if carried out deliberately, could possibly constitute war crimes.
Türk appealed to both sides to recognize humanity on the other side as well. "It is people - Palestinians and Israelis - who are being cruelly harmed," he said.
The Israeli ambassador defended Israel's actions. Her country was at war against a terrorist organization. The battlefield in Gaza had been created by Hamas. Because the fighters were hiding behind civilians, Israel had no choice but to attack there. Israel is doing everything it can to comply with international humanitarian law, for example by warning the population before air strikes.
The Palestinian ambassador said that children and women who were desperate to get something to eat were being bombed. He accused Israel of genocide. He condemned the attacks on October 7. However, the calendar did not begin on October 7. Israel has been oppressing the Palestinians for decades.
The diplomats from dozens of countries in the hall showed no reaction to the speech by the Israeli ambassador, who was in the hall of the UN Human Rights Council with two released hostages. After the Palestinian representative's speech, however, there was prolonged applause.
©Keystone/SDA
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