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 crimes
, stated this Thursday a report presented by High Commissioner Volker Türk to the Rights Council. UN Human Rights.
"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 the attacks and torture of civilians perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 as
war crimes
, as well as the indiscriminate launching of projectiles into Israeli cities during the current conflict.
The October attacks "were shocking and totally unjustifiable (...), but so is the brutality of the Israeli response," the Austrian high commissioner stressed in his speech.
A destroyed building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza following an Israeli airstrike.
Photo: BLOOMBERG
That response from Israel has included "an unprecedented level of killing and maiming among Gazan civilians, including against UN staff and journalists, a humanitarian crisis caused by restrictions on aid, and the displacement of at least three-quarters of the population of the strip," he stated.
The situation is "incomparably worse" than it was before, although the official also recalled that the Palestinians have suffered "56 years of Israeli occupation with deeply discriminatory control systems."
In the Gaza Strip the situation is aggravated by "16 years of blockade that in practice have left 2.2 million people in captivity, destroying the local economy," he stated.
The risk of escalation in Rafah
The high commissioner took advantage of his intervention to warn against a possible large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the extreme south of Gaza, since, in his opinion, if it materializes, "it will take the strip to a new dystopian dimension," given that 1.5 million displaced Gazans are crowded into that area.
"A ground assault could potentially cause great loss of life, more atrocious 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," said the high commissioner, referring to the ruling of the Hague court that urged Israel in January to take all necessary measures to prevent a genocide in Gaza.
Türk also highlighted this Thursday the
serious situation in the West Bank
, where since October 7, more than 7,000 Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained, 3,400 of them without a trial in sight and more than 600 held incommunicado.
"Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state, and those of Palestine must take into account Israel's right to exist in peace and security," concluded the Austrian high commissioner.
Source: EFE
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