2024-01-02 11:40:27
While Israel continued its attacks throughout the Gaza Strip with undiminished severity on Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, sees signs of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in the new Middle East war. In an interview with the dpa, he mentioned, among other things, the Hamas massacres of October 7th on the Palestinian side, but at the same time he has “serious concerns” about Israel’s reaction to it.
The Austrian Turk also sees signs of war crimes on the Palestinian side in the indiscriminate firing of projectiles at Israel and military actions from civilian facilities. Regarding Israel, Türk told the German Press Agency in Geneva: “If you look at how Israel has reacted to this, I have serious concerns about compliance with both human rights and international humanitarian law.” In the heavy Israeli bombings, 70 percent of those affected were women and minors. “One can assume that the majority of those who were hit are civilians,” said the Austrian. “Furthermore, collective punishment of the Palestinians is a war crime. Of course, courts ultimately have to judge who committed which crimes.”
It is difficult to assess whether there are crimes against humanity in the Gaza war. This refers, for example, to large-scale or systematic attacks against the civilian population. In order to assess this, it must also be examined whether there is a corresponding intention behind it. According to Türk, there are signs that crimes against humanity may have been committed: “Given the disproportionate and very heavy bombings, combined with the lack of effective humanitarian assistance, there are serious concerns that need to be examined further.”
The UN human rights office, which Türk heads, is demanding the release of the hostages kidnapped from Israel, an end to the aimless attacks by the Islamist Hamas, an end to the Israeli bombings and sufficient access for humanitarian aid. Israel is allowing only a limited number of trucks into the area, and humanitarian organizations say systematic distribution is not possible because of the constant bombing. Israel put contact with his office on hold in 2020. This goes back to a list of companies required by the UN Human Rights Council and published at the time that are involved in the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses on Tuesday reported renewed nighttime rocket attacks by Israel on the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip and shelling of the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Palestinian territory controlled by the radical Islamic Hamas. Fighting was also reported in refugee camps in the center of the Gaza Strip and in Khan Younis in the south. Tanks and planes were in action.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan, a district of Gaza City in the north, reported a withdrawal of Israeli tanks. They said they had ten days of the fiercest fighting with Hamas fighters since the start of the war. “The tanks were very close,” said Nasser, a father of seven. “We could see them in front of the houses. We couldn’t go out to get water.” Some Israeli tanks also withdrew from the Al-Mina and Tel al-Hawa districts.
Israel and Hamas have been at war for almost three months. The trigger was a major attack by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas on Israel on October 7th, in which around 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has bombed targets in the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive aimed at destroying Hamas. According to data from the Ministry of Health controlled by the radical Islamic organization, which cannot be independently verified, almost 20,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began. According to the Israeli military, 173 Israeli soldiers have also been killed since the offensive against Hamas began.
According to the health authority there, 207 people were killed by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours alone. 338 people were injured during this period. Since the beginning of the war, a total of 22,185 Palestinians have been killed and more than 57,000 have been injured.
Israel’s army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on Sunday evening that the military was preparing for a long war against Hamas that would last well into 2024. That’s why some of the 300,000 reservists would take a break from fighting and return to their families and work this week. This allows them to gather strength and at the same time helps the Israeli economy.
Qatar and Egypt, which negotiated a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at the end of November, are currently seeking a further ceasefire and the release of more hostages. As the US news site Axios reported, citing Israeli sources, Hamas put forward a proposal for a new hostage exchange on Sunday. This provides for three phases, each with a break in fighting of more than a month, in which the Israeli troops should withdraw from the Gaza Strip. In return, Hamas agreed to release some hostages. According to the plan, the final phase would herald the end of the war, the Israeli sources reported. An Israeli official told Axios that Israel’s War Cabinet discussed the proposal and rejected it as unacceptable. But he expressed optimism that ceasefire talks could lead to a more acceptable plan.
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