Israel has been accused of committing numerous war crimes in the Gaza Strip, according to the spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Elizabeth Throssell. Throssell’s statement, as reported by RIA Novosti, highlights the forced displacement of civilians, attacks on civilian individuals and infrastructure, and the collective punishment of Gaza residents as acts of war crimes.
However, Throssell emphasizes that the actions of Israel should be evaluated by a competent court. It is within the jurisdiction of such a court to determine whether these actions by Israeli forces in Gaza amount to genocide, she believes.
On October 7th, Hamas forces launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory and announced the beginning of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation. Thousands of militants infiltrated Israeli territory, seizing dozens of military vehicles and over a hundred hostages. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was in a state of war.
The Israeli Defense Forces’ retaliatory operation, named “Iron Swords,” aims to destroy Hamas. The Israeli Air Force has targeted hundreds of Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli National Security Council decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the region. On October 13th, Israel informed the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians should evacuate to the south of Gaza within 24 hours in anticipation of a ground operation.
Earlier, it was reported that around 50 UN agency facilities in the Gaza Strip have been damaged since the escalation began.
