‘Horrifying’: UN slams Israeli actions in Gaza as more aid seekers killed

UN rights main Volker Turk says Israel’s warfare methods ‘inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering connected Palestinians’.

The United Nations rights main has condemned Israel’s behaviour successful the besieged Gaza Strip, wherever deadly Israeli attacks proceed unabated adjacent arsenic the state is exchanging rocket attacks with determination rival Iran.

Speaking connected Monday, Volker Turk said Israel’s “means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering connected Palestinians successful Gaza”, wherever much than 19 months of Israeli attacks person killed astatine slightest 55,362 people, including thousands of children, according to wellness officials.

His comments came arsenic aesculapian sources told Al Jazeera that astatine slightest 20 Palestinians person been killed since dawn crossed Gaza connected Monday, including 15 assistance seekers adjacent organisation points successful Rafah, operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel.

Three much assistance seekers were reported killed successful bluish Gaza, and 2 successful an onslaught connected Gaza City.

“Israel has weaponised nutrient and blocked lifesaving aid,” Turk said arsenic helium presented his yearly study to the 59th Human Rights Council successful Geneva.

“I impulse immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks connected hopeless civilians to scope nutrient organisation centres,” helium added. “Disturbing, dehumanising rhetoric from elder Israeli authorities officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes.”

Hungry Palestinians ‘running retired of options’

The GHF began distributing assistance successful Gaza astatine the extremity of May aft Israel partially lifted a astir three-month full blockade of food, medicines, and different indispensable items, starring to fears of famine.

The UN and large humanitarian groups person refused to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns that it prioritises Israeli subject objectives implicit humanitarian needs.

Earlier this month, operations astatine the GHF assistance organisation hubs were besides temporarily halted pursuing respective incidents of deadly unit successful Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor, wherever Israeli forces opened occurrence connected assistance seekers.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Health successful Gaza said successful a connection that astatine slightest 274 radical person been killed truthful acold and much than 2,000 wounded adjacent assistance organisation sites since the GHF began operations.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, successful cardinal Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the existent assistance organisation mechanics has caused “chaos and despair” among Palestinians.

“Many bare Palestinians person tally retired of options, forced to take betwixt staying successful their homes and starving, oregon risking their lives to get a container of flour,” helium said.

Israel-Iran conflict

Separately connected Monday, Turk expressed heavy interest implicit the warring betwixt Israel and Iran that has killed hundreds of people, including galore civilians.

The UN precocious commissioner for quality rights called connected the countries to prosecute successful “urgent diplomatic negotiations to extremity these attacks and find a mode forward”.

“The subject escalation betwixt Israel and Iran is profoundly worrying,” Turk said, calling “for afloat respect of planetary instrumentality by some sides, successful peculiar the extortion of civilians successful densely populated areas”.