GENEVA – There appears to be no bounds to – no words to capture – the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in his word as part of the 55th interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in Palestine held in Geneva on Thursday.
Since early October, over 100,000 people have been killed or wounded. Let me repeat that: about one in every 20 children, women, and men, are now dead or wounded, he said.
At least 17,000 children are orphaned or separated from their families, while many more will carry the scars of physical and emotional trauma life-long. Today, the total number of people killed has exceeded 30,000. And tens of thousands of people are missing, many presumed buried under the rubble of their homes, he added.
The attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7 and 8 were shocking. Profoundly traumatizing. And totally unjustifiable and so is the brutality of the Israeli response; the unprecedented level of killing and maiming of civilians in Gaza, including UN staff and journalists; the catastrophic humanitarian crisis caused by restrictions on humanitarian aid; the displacement of at least three-quarters of the population, often multiple times; the massive destruction of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure – and in many cases, systematic demolition of entire neighborhoods, rendering Gaza largely unlivable.
The war in Gaza must end. Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties. It is time – well past time – for peace, investigation and accountability, he added.
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