'Israel' might have violated laws of war in Gaza: OHCHR
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The UN's Human Rights Office has shared suspicions of possible Israeli violations of the laws of war in several instances throughout the war on Gaza.
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A Palestinian child looks at the graves of people killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and buried inside the Shifa Hospital grounds in Gaza City, Sunday, December 31, 2023. (AP)
"Israel" might have violated fundamental principles in the laws of war and failed to identify Palestinian civilians from Resistance fighters several times throughout the war in Gaza, the United Nations' Human Rights Office stated on Wednesday.
After examining a report investigating six Israeli strikes that killed a high number of Palestinians en-masse and caused heavy destruction of civilian infrastructure, the UN Human Rights Office found that Israeli occupation forces "may have systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack."
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk further stated, "The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimize to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel's bombing campaign."
Last week, the Human Rights Office said the Israeli operation to retrieve four captives from the Nuseirat refugee camp, which caused at least 274 deaths among Palestinians, including women and children, could amount to war crimes.
Celebrating release of captives while 200+ killed in massacre
In a related context, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing has criticized countries for their perceived bias regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, particularly the Nuseirat massacre.
"Countries that celebrate the release of four Israeli hostages without saying a word about the hundreds of Palestinians killed and thousands held in arbitrary detention by Israel, have lost moral credibility for generations and don’t deserve to be on any UN human rights body," Balakrishnan Rajagopal said on X about the Israeli massacre.
Countries that celebrate the release of four Israeli hostages without saying a word about the hundreds of Palestinians killed and thousands held in arbitrary detention by Israel, have lost moral credibility for generations and don’t deserve to be on any UN human rights body.
— UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing (@adequatehousing) June 8, 2024
This comes as Western leaders rejoiced over retrieved captives, forgetting the hundreds of Palestinians of all ages, including children, who were slaughtered and left to die under the rubble.
