UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Condemns Mass Killing in Israel by Hamas

On Tuesday, October 10, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the mass killings and executions carried out by Palestinian militants, stating that Israel's decision for a 'complete siege' of Gaza exacerbates the 'dire' humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. According to the Associated Press, Volker Turk said that such a siege intensifies the 'dire human rights situation in Gaza, including the capacity of medical facilities.' Mr. Turk also expressed deep shock and horror at allegations of civilian executions and, in some cases, horrific mass killings by members of Palestinian militant groups. He added, 'Seeing images of mistreatment of individuals detained by Palestinian militant groups, as well as reports of horrific killings and desecration of corpses, is profoundly distressing.' The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Palestinian militant groups to 'immediately and unconditionally release all civilians who have been taken hostage.' Hamas, the militant group supported by the Islamic Republic, attacked Israel on Saturday, October 7, resulting in over a thousand deaths and more than 2,200 injuries. In response to these attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas. Over the past three days, hundreds of locations in the Gaza Strip, which Israel claims are related to Hamas, have been bombed. The White House stated that the United States does not want civilians in Gaza or Israel to be killed. The U.S. remarked that Hamas behaved in Israel like ISIS; the Islamic Republic should not intervene. The UN reported that about 200,000 people have been displaced in Gaza. Ali Khamenei referred to Hamas's attacks as a 'epic' and praised its planners.