A supporter of Israel holds an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, on 8 October. Photo: JULIA NIKHINSON / AFP
The death of 15 medics and humanitarian workers in Gaza, after shots were fired at their ambulances, raises further concerns of "war crimes by the Israeli army", claims the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"I am appalled by the recent killings of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military," said Volker Turk, before the UN Security Council.
Turk called for an "independent, prompt and thorough investigation" into the 23 March incident that Israeli officials claimed was an attack on "terrorists".
The bodies of 15 rescuers and humanitarian workers - including eight from the Palestinian Red Crescent and one from the UN - were found near Rafah in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called a "mass grave".
OCHA said Tuesday that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid teams were struck - one after another - for several hours, as they searched for their missing colleagues.
This is "one of the darkest moments in this conflict that has shaken our shared humanity to its core", said Palestinian Red Crescent Society president Younes Al-Khatib told the UN Security Council.
"The souls of Mostafa, Ezzedine, Saleh, Riffat, Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed al-heila, Ashraf and Raed are asking for justice," he said, demanding to know the fate of a 16th team member still missing.
"Can you hear them?"
"It's worth noting, also, that during the communication with the team, the dispatch could hear a conversation in Hebrew between the Israeli forces and the team, meaning some were alive, still alive, when they were under the control of the Israeli forces," Al-Khatib said.
The Israeli army indicated it was investigating the incident, while claiming its soldiers had fired at "terrorists".
Turk also condemned Israel for blocking the entry of humanitarian aid for a month and resuming its military operations, saying "the blockade and siege of Gaza", and the subsequent suffering of civilians "constitutes a form of collective punishment".
It "may also amount to the use of starvation as a method of war", he said.
Turk expressed alarm over "inflammatory statements by senior Israeli officials about seizing, dividing and controlling the territory of the Gaza Strip."
"All of this raises serious concerns about international crimes being committed and contradicts the fundamental principle of international law regarding acquisition of territory by force."
The war was triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023.
- AFP
