Turk: The Israeli blockade of Gaza may rise to the use of starvation as a war method
In his surrounding the UN Security Council on Thursday, Volker Turk said that the Israeli army continues to bomb camps “People who have been displaced many times, and who do not have a safe place to go to,” Adding that Israeli evacuation orders do not comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law.
He also pointed out that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continue to launch random missiles from Gaza at Israel, in a violation of international humanitarian law, and expressed his deep concern about the fate and safety of Israeli hostages who are still being held in the Strip.
Rescue workers arrange the bodies in Tel Al -Sultan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Group punishment may rise to starvation
The High Commissioner said that the comprehensive Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza a month ago “It is up to the level of collective punishment, and it may reach the level of starvation as a war method.”
He stressed that the siege imposed on vital aid and supplies, including food, water, electricity, fuel and medicines, is harmful to all the inhabitants of Gaza, and he said: “We are witnessing a return to the collapse of the previous ceasefire.”
Mr. Turk expressed his concern about “Investigative discourse” For senior Israeli officials related to the seizure of the lands, their annexation and division, and about the transfer of Palestinians outside Gaza. He said: “This raises serious concerns about the commission of international crimes, and it contradicts the basic principle of international law against the seizure of land by force.”
The High Commissioner expressed his deep concern about the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where more than 40,000 Palestinians were displaced and camps for the entire refugees were destroyed. Meanwhile, he stated that illegal settlement expansion “Continue unabated,” Where some Israeli ministers call for Israeli sovereignty over the occupied lands.
Mr. Turk urged to return to the ceasefire immediately, and to allow humanitarian aid unoiled to all parts of Gaza, and warned of “a growing and great danger of terrible crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
He said: “Nothing justifies the horrific attacks that targeted Israeli population communities on October 7, 2023, and nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Priority to protect civilians
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the war, Israeli military operations have resulted in the killing of more than 50,400 Palestinians in Gaza, and the injury of more than 114,000 others.
Mr. Turk said: “Under the Geneva Conventions, countries are committed to act when committing a serious violation of international humanitarian law. An agreement to prevent and punish the crime of genocideThe states are responsible for acting to prevent such a crime, when the danger becomes clear.
He urged all those with influences to ensure the protection of civilians as an absolute priority. He stressed the need to ensure complete accountability for all violations, the release of all hostages immediately and without restriction, and the release of all detainees arbitrarily. He said: “Israel must refrain from any actions that amount to the forced transportation of the residents of Gaza.”
The High Commissioner for Human Rights added that violence over the past eighteen months clearly shows the absence of a military road to get out of this crisis. He said that the only way to move forward is a political settlement, “It is based on two states that live alongside equal dignity and rights, in line with United Nations resolutions and international law.”
Many families from Jabalia camp recently returned to their homes, but renewed attacks since March 18 endanger the lives of children and their families again, along with the very difficult living conditions.
The emergency meeting of the Security Council is held to discuss escalation in the occupied Palestinian land. The Secretary -General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, yesterday expressed great concern about the human losses resulting from the escalation of hostilities in Gaza. The killing of more than a thousand people, including women and children, has been killed since the ceasefire collapsed about two weeks ago.
He was also shocked by the Israeli army’s attacks on a convoy of medical and humanitarian workers on March 23, killing 15 people.
Since October 2023, at least 408 relief workers have been killed in Gaza, of whom 280 human workers belonging to the United Nations.
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