UN rights chief urges Israel and Hamas to spare civilians
Source: Agencies |
November 21, 2012, Wednesday
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THE UN's human rights chief pressed Israel yesterday to avoid strikes on civilian structures in Gaza, and UNICEF said children in the enclave were showing signs of severe trauma after direct hits on dwellings that have killed dozens of civilians.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also reminded both parties - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement - to the week-old conflict of their obligation to comply with humanitarian law to minimize civilian casualties.
Some 120 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, including 20 children, have died in the offensive.
An Israeli airstrike on two cars in the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians yesterday, while two children died in an attack in the north of the territory.
The trio of attacks happened as a delegation of Arab ministers, led by Egypt's foreign minister, were visiting the Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity on the seventh day of intensive Israeli air raids on the coastal enclave.
UN rights spokesman Rupert Colville said: "The High Commissioner therefore calls on Israel to scrupulously meet its legal obligations to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and take precautions and all possible measures to avoid the loss of civilian life and damage to civilian property."
Some 31 residences in Gaza have been hit by Israeli missiles, and hundreds of people have been injured, he said.
Dozens of schools and religious sites in Gaza are reported to have been damaged by Israel's aerial bombing campaign, which followed weeks of increasing Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
"As to whether these would be war crimes, that would depend very much on the circumstances of each individual episode as to whether there was a valid (military) target nearby or not, but that's a very complex issue," Colville said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called yesterday for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest.
Colville said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and an ex-UN war crimes judge, felt it was necessary to ensure accountability for any violation of international law.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also reminded both parties - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement - to the week-old conflict of their obligation to comply with humanitarian law to minimize civilian casualties.
Some 120 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, including 20 children, have died in the offensive.
An Israeli airstrike on two cars in the Gaza Strip killed six Palestinians yesterday, while two children died in an attack in the north of the territory.
The trio of attacks happened as a delegation of Arab ministers, led by Egypt's foreign minister, were visiting the Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity on the seventh day of intensive Israeli air raids on the coastal enclave.
UN rights spokesman Rupert Colville said: "The High Commissioner therefore calls on Israel to scrupulously meet its legal obligations to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and take precautions and all possible measures to avoid the loss of civilian life and damage to civilian property."
Some 31 residences in Gaza have been hit by Israeli missiles, and hundreds of people have been injured, he said.
Dozens of schools and religious sites in Gaza are reported to have been damaged by Israel's aerial bombing campaign, which followed weeks of increasing Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
"As to whether these would be war crimes, that would depend very much on the circumstances of each individual episode as to whether there was a valid (military) target nearby or not, but that's a very complex issue," Colville said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called yesterday for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region with a message that escalation of the week-long conflict was in nobody's interest.
Colville said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and an ex-UN war crimes judge, felt it was necessary to ensure accountability for any violation of international law.
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