Both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes, the UN has denounced

The attacks by Hamas and associated armed groups in October 2023 on Israeli territory, but also the current siege of Gaza by Israel, constitute war crimeswe read this Thursday in a report presented by High Commissioner Volker Türk to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

“The blockade imposed on Gaza is a collective punishment, it may amount to the use of famine as a weapon, and both of these things, committed intentionally, are war crimes,” Türk commented when presenting the report at the 55th session of the Council. .

The document also considers war crimes attacks and torture against civilians perpetrated by Hamas on 7 Octoberas well as the indiscriminate firing of projectiles into Israeli cities during the current conflict.

The October attacks “were shocking and completely unjustifiable (…), but so was the brutality of the Israeli response”, the Austrian high commissioner underlined in his speech.

Israel’s response has included “an unprecedented level of killing and maiming among Gaza civilians, including against United Nations staff and journalists, a humanitarian crisis caused by aid restrictions, and the displacement of at least three-quarters of the Strip’s population.” , “he has declared.

The situation is “incomparably worse” than before, although the official also recalled that Palestinians have suffered “56 years of Israeli occupation with deeply discriminatory systems of control.”

In the Gaza Strip the situation is worsened by “16 years of blockade which has essentially left 2.2 million people in captivity, destroying the local economy”, he said.

The risk escalates in Rafah

The High Commissioner took advantage of his speech to warn against a possible large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the far south of Gaza, since, in his opinion, if it materializes, “it will bring the Strip into a new dimension dystopian,” given that 1.5 million displaced Gazans are crowded into that area.

“A ground attack could potentially cause great loss of life, even more heinous crimes and further displacement to unsafe areas,” Türk warned.

“I cannot understand how such an operation could comply with the provisional measures dictated by the International Court of Justice,” the high commissioner said, referring to the Hague Court ruling in January which urged Israel to take all the measures necessary to prevent genocide. in Gaza.

Türk also highlighted this Thursday the serious situation in the West Bankwhere since October 7, more than 7,000 Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained, 3,400 of them with no trial in sight and more than 600 held incommunicado.

“Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state, and Palestinian leaders must take into account Israel’s right to exist in peace and security,” concluded the Austrian High Commissioner.

Source: EFE