Alarming words from Geneva: UN rapporteurs criticize the Israeli bombings and the closure of the coastal strip as a disproportionate response to Hamas attacks.
Around 30 independent UN rapporteurs have warned of genocide in the Gaza Strip. They are referring to the Israeli bombings and the closure of the coastal strip after the attack on Israel by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th. “Many of us have already warned of the danger of genocide in Gaza,” said the reporters in Geneva.
“We are also deeply concerned by some governments’ support for Israel’s strategy of waging war against the beleaguered population of Gaza and the failure of the international system to mobilize to prevent genocide.” The Israeli military operation, which according to Hamas has already claimed more than 11,000 lives, cannot be justified as self-defense, they wrote.
Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip since the October 7 massacres in which around 1,200 people were killed. The army wants to destroy Hamas and free around 240 hostages that the terrorist organization kidnapped in the attack.
EU chief diplomat: One horror does not justify another
During talks in Israel, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell clearly called for more to be done to protect the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. “One horror does not justify another,” he said on Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Innocent civilians have died in recent weeks, including thousands of children. We also know that people would be forced to leave their homes and would need food, water, fuel and shelter.
Borrell added that he understands the anger following the actions of the Hamas terrorists, but he asks not to be consumed by anger. A civilized society differs from a terrorist group in that it respects human life. Hamas must be defeated, but it does not represent the Palestinian people.
International Criminal Court investigations against Israel called for
South Africa is calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said this during a visit to Qatar. South Africa, “along with many other countries in the world,” considered it appropriate “to refer all of Israel’s actions to the International Criminal Court. We referred the case because we believe that war crimes are being committed there.”
In the Gaza Strip, “war crimes are taking place in real time, especially in Shifa Hospital,” Ramaphosa said. Many people around the world are therefore “horrified”. South Africa has called on several countries to increase pressure on Israel. The Israeli government has “perfected the habit of not following and implementing decisions of the UN Security Council and other world forums.”
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has already indicated that the criminal court is already investigating possible crimes on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Khan visited the Rafah border crossing in Egypt in October.
