U.N. Rights Chief Urges Israel to 'Stop the Carnage' as Gaza Ground Assault Escalates
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk urged Israel to halt its ground assault on Gaza, warning of mounting war crimes as a U.N. report accuses Israel of genocide—claims Israel rejects.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in Geneva, calling on Israel to halt its Gaza offensive.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called upon Israel to immediately halt its ground offensive in Gaza City, warning that the escalation in violence threatens the commission of further atrocities.
Speaking to the press in Geneva on Tuesday, Turk declared that the ongoing military operations were causing unbearable suffering.
“I can only think of what it means for women, malnourished children, and people with disabilities if they are attacked in this way. The only response to this is: stop the carnage,” he stated.
Turk said that lands in Palestine and Israel were "crying for peace" and that we were witnessing a very hard and surely unacceptable escalation.
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry had issued a very scathing report which accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, holding top Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responsible for having incited these acts. However, the State of Israel has entirely rejected the findings of the Commission and labeled the report as "distorted and false."
When asked whether he would call those acts genocide, Turk refused to use the term but said that evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity was growing. Turk said that both Palestinians and Israelis were "crying out for peace," with an unacceptable and hard escalation taking place.
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry had released an excruciating report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, even accusing high-ranking Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with having incited those acts. In contrast, Israel rejected outright the findings of the Commission and described the report as "distorted and false."
The evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, he specifies, "has been growing," despite being coy about whether he would call them genocides.
“It’s for the court to decide whether it’s genocide or not. What we are seeing is the piling up of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and potentially even more,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defence Minister declared that “Gaza is burning” following heavy overnight strikes across Gaza City, underscoring the scale of the military escalation.
