The UN said it was both “deeply shocked” Tuesday by the impact on civilians of the Israeli operation to free the hostages and “deeply distressed” by the fact that armed Palestinian groups continue to hold hostages.
“All these actions, by both parties, could amount to war crimes,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, adding that this It would be up to the courts to determine whether this is the case or not.
“The manner in which the raid was carried out in such a densely populated area seriously calls into question the respect of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution — as set out in the laws of war — by Israeli forces,” he said. underlined Mr. Laurence, during the regular UN press briefing.
The Office “is also deeply distressed by the fact that Palestinian armed groups continue to hold numerous hostages, most of them civilians, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law,” said Mr. Laurence.
“Furthermore, by holding hostages in such densely populated areas, armed groups are putting the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as those of the hostages themselves, in additional danger from the hostilities,” he stressed. .
Number of deaths
The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had freed four hostages from the hands of Palestinian armed groups who had captured them during the unprecedented attack carried out on Israeli soil on October 7.
According to the Islamist group Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip and carried out the October 7 attacks, 274 people were killed and 698 injured during the Israeli army’s operation in a densely populated area of the Palestinian territory.
The spokesperson for the High Commission clarified that he did not have an independent means of verifying the assessment given by Hamas, but “judges it close to being 100% accurate”.
He acknowledged that it was more difficult to verify them due to the exceptional circumstances on the ground, while adding: “we think [que ces chiffres] are reliable, otherwise we wouldn’t use them, it’s as simple as that.”
He also indicated that he had no information on the fact that Israeli special forces had used at least one vehicle intended for humanitarian aid.
Several witnesses, interviewed by AFP, spoke of the presence of a refrigerated truck in the area where the hostages were freed.
” Finally “
The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva reacted quickly, noting that the High Commissioner for Human Rights had “finally realized that Hamas is using Palestinians as human shields.” “Yet instead of taking a clear and consistent position against this heinous strategy, he makes a habit of slandering Israel. This time, for saving our hostages,” the mission underlined in a press release.
The civilian toll of this war “is above all the product of Hamas’ deliberate strategy” and “those who continue to protect Hamas terrorists, including OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), are complicit in suffering of Palestinians and Israelis,” the statement accuses.
The October 7 attack from the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians killed on October 7, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 people taken as hostages on October 7, 116 are still detained in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead according to the Israeli army.
In the Gaza Strip, more than 37,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli bombings and military operations since the start of the war, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza.