GAZA, (PIC)
UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk has raised the alarm over “unconscionable death and suffering” of Palestinians under Israel’s relentless attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Turk decried the Israeli escalating attacks in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. “Israel’s relentless strikes in Gaza are causing immense suffering and widespread destruction, and the arbitrary denial and obstruction of humanitarian aid have continued.”
“More than 120,000 people in Gaza, overwhelmingly women and children, have been killed or injured since 7 October, as a result of the intensive Israeli offensives,” the UN official said.
In addition to those maimed or killed by intense Israeli bombardment, Turk pointed out that since Israeli forces escalated operations in Rafah in early May, almost one million Palestinians have been displaced yet again, while aid deliveries have been squeezed, affecting humanitarian access even further.
“Israel continues to detain arbitrarily thousands of Palestinians. This must end,” the UN rights chief added.
Turk said he was “appalled by the disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law.”
Turk warned of the “dramatically deteriorating” situation in the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, where Palestinians are exposed to growing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.
According to Turk, 528 Palestinians, 133 of them children, had been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since October.
