UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, estimated in a joint statement released in Geneva on Thursday that “there is a serious risk of genocide” for the Palestinian people.
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“We remain convinced that the Palestinian people face a serious risk of genocide,” write these independent experts, commissioned by the Human Rights Council but not speaking on behalf of the United Nations, in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas .
“The time to act is now. Israel’s allies also have a responsibility and must act now to prevent Israel from going down this disastrous path,” they said.
They expressed “increasing horror” at Israeli airstrikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp. They see this as a “flagrant violation of international law.”
AFP
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday that Israel’s bombing of the Palestinian refugee camp Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip “could be a war crime.”
“The attack on a camp housing civilians, including women and children, represents a total violation of the rules of proportionality and the distinction between combatants and civilians,” explained the experts who believe that the bombing of this camp took place in a very limited and very densely populated area “could have, according to certain reports, caused hundreds of Palestinian deaths and injuries.”
They also called for the immediate release of “all civilians held captive since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip.”
“All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights,” the experts emphasized.
“We call for a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure aid reaches those who need it most. A ceasefire also means that communication channels can be opened to ensure the release of hostages.”
AFP
Hamas’s unprecedented attacks left more than 1,400 people dead, most of them civilians who were often brutally murdered, and more than 240 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel immediately responded with intense and unremitting artillery and air strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas health authorities, more than 9,000 people died, including 3,760 children.