UN Human Rights Office: Israel 'likely violated' war laws in Gaza multiple times

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the Israeli army likely violated war laws multiple times in the Gaza Strip and failed to distinguish between civilians and members of the extremist group Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. Simultaneously, on Wednesday, June 30, the head of the UN inquiry commission also accused the Israeli army of 'destroying' Palestinians. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' office, in a report concerning six instances of Israeli bombings, stated: 'The army of this country has likely systematically violated the principles of distinction between targets, proportionality in the intensity of attacks, and precaution to preserve civilian lives.' Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also stated in a statement: 'It seems that the requirements regarding the selection of targets and methods of attacks to avoid harming civilians and at least minimizing it in Israeli airstrikes have always been violated.' The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva described this report as 'legally, analytically, and factually incorrect' and added: 'Considering that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has presented a biased picture at best, any attempt to draw legal conclusions from this report is fundamentally incorrect.' The UN accused both Israel and Hamas of 'war crimes.' Concurrently, Navi Pillay, the head of the UN inquiry commission, stated in a Human Rights Council session that perpetrators of crimes in the Gaza war must be punished. She emphasized that Israel has committed the majority of acts that are considered 'crimes against humanity' under international law. Ms. Pillay stated that the scale of civilian casualties among Palestinians constitutes 'the destruction of' a population group. She, a South African lawyer and former official of the UN Human Rights Office, further reported to the Human Rights Council: 'We have concluded that the high number of civilian casualties and the widespread destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is the inevitable result of a deliberate policy aimed at inflicting maximum destruction and damage.' Navi Pillay condemned the method of Israeli army attacks in the Gaza Strip and added: 'The use of heavy weapons in crowded areas constitutes a deliberate and direct attack on civilians.' Israel typically does not cooperate with UN investigations and accuses its bodies of bias. In the Human Rights Council session, Israel responded to the commission's report with a speech by the mother of a hostage held by Hamas. Maraiyo Gonen, the mother of a 23-year-old hostage, tearfully stated: 'The hostages need our help. We can do more for them.' Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated at a press conference: 'We believe that the publication of this report is very important because it has been eight months since some of these airstrikes occurred, and no reliable and transparent investigations have been conducted regarding them.' She added that in the absence of transparent investigations, 'international action' is essential. The UN's investigations examined six Israeli airstrikes between October 7 and December 2, and this body has been able to assess the weapons used and the targets and methods employed in these attacks. Chris Sidoti, a member of the UN inquiry commission, told reporters that the results of these investigations, which have been submitted to the International Criminal Court, prove that the Israeli army is 'one of the most criminal armies in the world.' He added that another part of the commission's investigations regarding the treatment of Israeli hostages and thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has not yet been completed due to obstacles created by the Israeli government. Mr. Sidoti stated: 'Israel's approach has been obstructionist rather than cooperative.' Meanwhile, at the end of May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders on charges of 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity.' Karim Khan stated in an interview with CNN that he is seeking international arrest warrants against Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Muhammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (also known as Muhammad Deif), Hamas's internal and external leaders, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, and Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Defense.