The Israeli attacks caused “mass civilian deaths,” the UN human rights chief said, with more than 25,500 Palestinians killed in the space of a year and more than 68,800 injured.
Killed in search of food.
A total of 2,435 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army near food collection points. run by the non-UN Gaza Humanitarian Foundation between late May and early October, Mr. Türk also said, adding that the majority were young men and boys.
In the West Bank, Israeli security forces “continued to launch airstrikes and use illegal force, killing hundreds of Palestinians,” he added.
Since last October’s fragile ceasefire, More than 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,600 injured in Gaza.according to local authorities. “Anywhere else, this would be considered a major crisis,” the human rights official said.
The independent human rights expert monitoring the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, highlighted the “catastrophic” situation that Gazans face today.
The Special Rapporteur said families “survive in flooded tents while people continue to die from gunshots, hunger and preventable diseases,” despite the truce.
Ms Albanese – who does not work for the UN and reports to the Human Rights Council – spoke in Geneva alongside other independent experts, who condemned repeated attempts to undermine their work for the Council’s “Special Procedures” mandates.
Attacks on independent experts “out of the ordinary”
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett rejected calls for Albanese to resign along with “personal vendettas” against independent experts, following the publication of an online video that misrepresented his comments on Israel.
Albanese was sanctioned by the United States last July for alleged “serious violation” of national sovereignty, along with judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) starting in February of last year.
Mr. Bennett said that all States appearing in reports and statements by Special Procedures mandate holders “They may strongly disagree and have every right to express those disagreements forcefully..
“However, deliberately misrepresenting the statements or views of mandate holders and attacking them personally is out of the ordinary. International sanctions are for human rights violators and criminals, not for human rights defenders.”
Special rapporteurs and other independent human rights experts are not UN staff and do not receive remuneration for their work. Human rights are one of the fundamental pillars of all the work of the United Nations, along with peace, security and development.
Watch below the full press conference called by the five independent experts in Geneva: