GENEVA, 19 Oct. Israeli bombing of schools and hospitals in Gaza , as well as the blockade of the strip are crimes against humanity, there is a risk of genocide of the Palestinian people, UN special rapporteurs said.
“»We are sounding the alarm: Israel continues its campaign leading to crimes against humanity in Gaza. Given the statements of Israeli political leaders and their allies , accompanied by military action in Gaza and an escalation of arrests and killings in the West Bank, there is also a risk of genocide against the Palestinian people,” the experts said in a statement released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
They also called for the protection of all aid workers, after the World Health Organization documented more than 136 attacks on health services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including 59 attacks in the Gaza Strip that have killed at least 16 health workers since October 7.
“The strike on the Al-Ahly Arab hospital was an atrocity. We are also outraged by the deadly attack on the same day on the UNRWA school located in the Al-Ahli refugee camp. Maghazi, which is sheltering some 4,000 displaced people, as well as two densely populated refugee camps,” the special rapporteurs added.
UN experts stressed that the complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, coupled with “impossible” evacuation orders and «forced population transfer» is a violation of international humanitarian law.
The document was, in particular, signed by the UN Special Rapporteur: on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation Pedro Arroyo Agudo, on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese, on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem and on internal human rights displaced persons Paula Gaviria Betancourt.
Al-Ahly Hospital in the Gaza Strip was attacked on October 17. Gaza's health ministry said 471 people were killed and more than 300 were injured, most of them women and children. Palestinians and Israelis blamed each other for the attack: the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that the attack was carried out by Israeli planes, and the Israeli army said that the hospital was hit by a rocket that was unsuccessfully launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
Israel was subjected to unprecedented fire on October 7 the scale of a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters penetrated into the border areas in southern Israel.
In response, the Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all settlements near the border with Gaza and began air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was suspended.
The number of victims in the Gaza Strip has reached 3,785 people, including 1,524 children and 1,000 women, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported. In Israel, according to local authorities, more than 1,300 people were killed. The Russian Embassy reported that during the escalation, 19 Russians died, two were taken hostage, and seven were listed as missing. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas. The movement itself stated that there are about 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, associated with the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and fighting in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created. Israel, while declaring agreement with the two-state principle, did not completely liberate the Palestinian territories.