The current context requires the creation of a political space for a way out of this horror, the representative said in statements to the press from Geneva.
Targeted attacks on hospitals, schools, markets and bakeries as well as the collective punishment, blockade and siege imposed on Gaza are prohibited by international humanitarian law, he emphasized.
Türk called for responsibility for serious violations of the population’s rights while condemning the abductions of civilians by the Palestinian resistance.
“I stand with all civilians, Palestinians or Israelis, who are being harmed or who live in fear,” he stressed.
The High Commissioner rejected Israel’s order to force civilians in the enclave to relocate to the south, an area that is also not safe.
Relatives, elderly people and children, frightened and sometimes injured, moved slowly along a road lined with bomb craters, he said, recalling that others unable to move were trapped in northern Gaza.
In this sense, he called for the suspension of hostilities for humanitarian operations, as called for in Security Council resolution 2712 adopted on Wednesday evening.
The long-awaited text calls for urgent pauses and expanded humanitarian corridors in the enclave for “a sufficient number of days” to allow agencies full, rapid, safe and unhindered access, after several previous attempts and more than a month of conflict. and United Nations partners.
It also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by the Palestinian resistance, especially children, as well as guarantees of humanitarian access.
Additional provisions call on the parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population of the Gaza Strip of essential services and assistance essential to their survival, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The project prepared by Malta received 12 votes in favour, no votes against and three abstentions (Russia, United Kingdom and United States).
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