Geneva, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has strongly criticized a series of Israeli airstrikes on Rafah in recent days that have resulted in the deaths of many children and women. He reiterated warnings against a full-scale incursion into an area where 1.2 million civilians have been forcibly confined.
According to Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Türk indicated that such an incursion would further violate international humanitarian law and human rights law, leading to more deaths, injuries, and large-scale displacement. He also noted that these actions could lead to further atrocity crimes, with those responsible being held accountable. In March, the Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire.
“The world’s leaders stand united on the imperative of protecting the civilian population trapped in Rafah,” said the High Commissioner.
He described the grim scenes resulting from the strikes, including the case of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, and two houses where 15 children and five women were killed. On 19 April, an apartment building in the Tal Al Sultan area in Rafah was hit, killing nine Palestinians, including six children and two women. On 20 April, a strike on two adjacent houses in the At Tanour area killed 20 Palestinians, including 15 children and five women. A strike on As Shabora Camp in Rafah on the same day left four people dead, including a girl and a pregnant woman.
As of 22 April, as per the authorities in Gaza, a total of 34,151 Palestinians have been killed, including 14,685 children and 9,670 women. Additionally, 77,084 have been injured, with over 7,000 people believed to be under the rubble.
Türk expressed horror at the destruction of the An Nasser Medical Complex and Al Shifa Medical Complex and the discovery of mass graves in and around these locations. He urged independent, transparent investigations into the deaths, recommending international investigators due to the existing climate of impunity.
“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime,” Türk stated.
Türk called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and those held in arbitrary detention, and unrestricted humanitarian aid. Additionally, he mentioned continued human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, with settler violence continuing after the Security Forces supported attacks from 12-14 April.
During a 50-hour operation in the Nur Shams refugee camp and Tulkarem city, beginning on 18 April, the Israeli Security Forces used ground troops, bulldozers, and drones, leading to 14 Palestinian deaths, including three children. The operation inflicted unprecedented damage on the camp and its infrastructure.
On 20 April, the Israeli Security Forces or settlers shot and killed a 50-year-old Palestinian ambulance driver evacuating two Palestinians injured by live ammunition during an attack by settlers in As Sawiya, Nablus.