Israel - Hamas War : 'Horrendous events' in Gaza in past days 'beggar belief'

The amount of violence in Gaza in recent days has been inconceivable, according to the UN rights director, with strikes on schools housing displaced people and a hospital converted into a "death zone." "The atrocities of the last 48 hours in Gaza defy belief," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a statement.

He spoke as the World health Organisation hurried to evacuate the last surviving patients and workers from the Al-Shifa hospital, with UN authorities branding the Palestinian territory's major health institution as a "death zone" after Israeli forces attacked it last week.

In northern Gaza, a Hamas health official stated on saturday that more than 80 people were killed in twin attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp, including a UN school housing displaced people.

"The killing of so many people at schools turned shelters, hundreds fleeing for their lives from Al-Shifa Hospital, amid continuing displacement of hundreds of thousands in southern Gaza, are actions which fly in the face of the basic protections civilians must be afforded under international law," he said.

He called the photographs supposedly shot in the aftermath of the alleged Israeli hit on the UN-run Al-Fakhura school "horrifying," and said they "clearly show a large number of women, children, and men severely wounded or killed."

- 'May constitute war crimes'

The UN human rights head stated that the Israeli military is "dropping leaflets demanding residents go to unspecified "recognised shelters" in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, even as strikes take place throughout Gaza."

"Regardless of warnings, israel is obligated to protect civilians wherever they are," he stated, citing international law norms of distinction, proportionality, and care while carrying out operations.

"Failure to adhere to these rules may constitute war crimes," Turkish officials added.

According to Turk, at least three more schools housing displaced persons have been targeted in the last 48 hours.

"The pain, dread, and fear etched on the faces of children, women and men is too much to bear," he went on to say.

"How much more violence, bloodshed, and misery will it take before people wake up?" How many more innocent people will be killed?

"Humanity must come first," he stated, emphasising the critical necessity for a cease-fire "right now."

According to Israeli sources, Hamas terrorists carried out unprecedented strikes within israel on october 7, killing about 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians, and holding 240 more hostage.

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Israel Hamas Gaza

SIBY JEYYA

20/11/2023 08:13 AM