UN human rights office accuses Israel of war crimes
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Israel’s actions within the framework of “collective punishment” of the population of the Gaza Strip constitute war crimes, spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani told reporters.
“The collective punishment of the population of Gaza, the deprivation of basic goods, electricity and water, and the bombing of densely populated areas are war crimes under international humanitarian law,” she said (quote according to RIA Novosti).
Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by launching Operation Iron Swords, and the country declared a state of war. According to the latest data, about 8,000 people were killed in the Palestinian-Israeli war, including more than 6,500 Palestinians. Among the dead were 23 Russians with Israeli passports, the Israeli Foreign Ministry noted. It was previously reported that Hamas took 222 people hostage. Among them are 15 Argentines, 12 Germans, 12 Americans, six French and six Russians, as well as 54 Thai citizens.
On October 24, at the UN Security Council, the Secretary General of the world organization, Antonio Guterres, called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of hostages, as well as an end to “attacks on civilians, residential buildings and hospitals” and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid on an ongoing basis. He condemned the attack of the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, noting that the actions of the militants cannot be a reason “for collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
According to the UN Secretary General, the Hamas attack did not happen out of nowhere. He recalled that the Palestinians “lived under a suffocating occupation” for 56 years. At the same time, the resentment of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’ attacks, the secretary general added.
Israel’s representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called Guterres’ speech “shocking”, calling on the Secretary General to resign immediately, and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen refused a meeting with Guterres, saying that Hamas must first be destroyed. Guterres himself later said he was shocked that his words were interpreted as justifying Hamas’ attack on Israel.
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