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UN Human rights chief condemns "mass killing" of Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations Human Rights Chief condemned Israel for "massacring" Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and "hindering sufficient life-saving aid", saying that the country has a case before the International Court of Justice.

Volker Turk is the head of the Office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He did not describe the Gaza War as a genocide in progress, as had been urged by hundreds of U.N. employees.

In his opening remarks to the 60th Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Turk expressed disgust at the "open use of genocidal language" and the "disgraceful humanization" of Palestinians that senior Israeli officials had engaged in.

Turk said: "Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians, its wholesale destruction and indescribable suffering; its refusal to provide sufficient aid for civilians and the subsequent starvation; the killing of journalists and its commission of crime after crime are shocking to the conscience of the entire world."

Turk said that Israel has a case before the International Court of Justice, and the evidence is mounting. Turk was referring to a January ruling by the ICJ which stated that Israel had a duty to prevent genocide.

Israel's U.N. delegation in Geneva has said that it will respond to any requests for comments shortly.

Israel previously denied accusations of genocide against Gaza. It cited its right to self defense following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that resulted to the death of 1,200 people, and the capture of 251 captives, according to Israeli statistics.

Gaza's health ministry reports that Israel's subsequent offensive has killed nearly 63,000 people. A global hunger monitor states that a part of the territory suffers from famine.

Turk addressed the issue of human rights, and said that they are being undermined by "disturbing" trends such as the glorification violence and the withdrawal of certain states from the system multilateral.

He said that "rules of war are being dismantled - and there is virtually no accountability."

Turk condemned widespread violations that he claimed had occurred following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as conflicts in Sudan and Myanmar. (Reporting and editing by Miranda Murray, Aidan Lewis, and Olivia Le Poidevin)

(source: Reuters)