International leaders have called for prompt action from the UN to stop "Israel's" "bloodbath" in Gaza in a joint letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General.

"At the time of writing the Ministry of Health in Gaza is reporting that the Israeli war machine has killed nearly 6,000 Palestinians and wounded over 15,000 in Gaza, the overwhelming majority of them civilians. Over 2350 of these have been children. An estimated 1500 people are missing, presumed buried under the rubble, of which over 800 are children," as per the letter signatories, who are from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Europe.

They said Israeli soldiers had killed about 100 Palestinians and injured numerous more in the occupied West Bank, "again the vast majority of them being civilians."

"We are writing to you to request the UN's urgent intervention to bring about an end to the war crimes and atrocities being carried out by Israel in its onslaught on Gaza and the West Bank," the signatories asked United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The letter, which was spearheaded by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), was signed by a number of prominent academics, including professors Jeff Halper, Richard Falk, Ilan Pappe, and Avi Shlaim; the head of the Iranian Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Professor Hamid Algar; the Department of Persian and Islamic Studies at the University of California Berkeley, USA; and former UK Labor Minister Clare Short.

The letter was sent the day after Guterres was urged to step down by "Israel's" UN envoy for stating in his speech to the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the Israeli authority has been occupying Palestine for "56 years of suffocating occupation."

"It is important to also recognize the attack by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," the UN chief said.

Due to remarks made by Guterres, "Israel" says it has denied visas to UN officials "to teach them a lesson," as per the Israeli occupation.

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The signatories emphasized that the occupying entity "has wantonly violated international law by targeting civilian infrastructure," including, "residential buildings, schools, hospitals, ambulances, mosques, churches, supermarkets, roads full of fleeing people and food production plants."

"It has also directly targeted gatherings of civilians as it did on 17/10/2023 when it bombed the grounds of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza where displaced residents were seeking refuge and when it bombed a convoy carrying civilians to the south of Gaza on 13/10/2023," they added.

Citing numerous human rights organizations, they emphasized that the regime has also used white phosphorous, which is prohibited internationally, in Gaza and Lebanon.

Read more: Amnesty challenges IOF denial of white phosphorus use with evidence

In addition, "Israel" has cut off food, water, and electricity to the heavily populated Gaza Strip, throwing the region under siege and creating a humanitarian disaster. In addition, 1.1 million residents of Gaza's northern region received warnings of forced displacement to the south of the blockaded area.

"In light of the war crimes currently being perpetrated on the people of Gaza, what action do you intend to take to try and rein in the Israeli war machine? The UN was formed in the wake of World War 2 with the express purpose of upholding a rule-based world order and to prevent a repeat of the horrors of that conflict," the signatories said.

"That being the case how much longer is the organization going to stand by and watch as genocide unfolds before our very eyes?" they asked Guterres.

"We urge and expect you to rise to the need of the hour and spare no effort to help end this bloodbath by reining in Israel, establishing an immediate ceasefire and working to arrange the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip," they added.

"Unless Israel is stopped and held accountable for the crimes it is currently committing in Gaza and the West Bank it will continue to kill and maim with impunity and to make a mockery of international law," the international figures emphasized in the letter to the UN chief.

The situation in Gaza is deplorable. When examined objectively, it bears the hallmarks of genocide in every sense of the word. Hamas has initiated a surprise attack, which the mainstream has labeled a "terrorist" move. However, when we delve into the historical factors that have contributed to this escalation, it becomes apparent that it is a form of justified retaliation. For over the past half-century, the Gaza enclave has endured a form of occupation that entails controlling and restricting the free flow of people and goods in a bid to choke the civilian population, resulting in unspeakable living conditions.