UN ‘shocked’ by impact of Israeli hostage rescue on Gaza civilians

The United Nations human rights office said it was “deeply shocked” by the impact on civilians of Israel’s operation in central Gaza to rescue four hostages held by Hamas.

Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people were killed and injured in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday. The Israeli military said fewer than 100 people were killed.

UN spokesman Jeremy Laurence said the actions of Israeli forces “seriously call into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and prevention… were respected” and could lead to War Crimes.

He also said Palestinian armed groups could face war crimes charges for continuing to hold hostages in construction zones and “endangering the lives of Palestinian civilians as well as the Palestinians themselves.” hostage”.

The Israeli delegation to the United Nations in Geneva has accused the UN human rights office of “slander”.

“The damage of this war on civilians is first and foremost the product of Hamas’s deliberate strategy to maximize damage to civilians,” a statement said.

“Those who continue to shelter Hamas terrorists, incl [the UN human rights office]complicit in the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

The Israeli military has repeatedly affirmed that it operates in accordance with international law.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The four hostages freed on Saturday – Noa Argamani, Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv – were held in two apartment buildings about 200m (656ft) apart in Nuseirat – a historic urban refugee camp where witnessed a wave of evacuees since the attack. start war.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli commandos suddenly attacked Ms. Argamani’s Hamas bodyguards and quickly killed them. But the simultaneous action of freeing Mr. Ziv, Mr. Kozlov and Mr. Meir from the second building sparked a fierce gunfight with their guards, in which a senior Israeli police officer was seriously injured.

As the commandos evacuated to the coast, they were attacked by fighters armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the IDF said. In response, Israeli aircraft, artillery and naval vessels launched fierce attacks on the area.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 others wounded in the operation.. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Hamas-run Government Communications Office reported that among the dead were 64 children, 57 women and 37 elderly people.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Their teams, along with medical staff at al-Aqsa hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah and Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, treated hundreds of seriously injured patients, many of them are women and children.

The charity also quoted one of its Palestinian doctors, Dr. Hazem Maloh, as saying that dozens of men, women and children were killed, including neighbors, friends or relatives of grandfather.

The director of al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program that 142 dead and 250 injured were taken to hospital on Saturday, and nearly a quarter of those killed were women. women and children.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said their medical center in Nuseirat had treated more than 125 injured people.

The IDF’s chief spokesman said they were aware of casualties of “less than 100” Palestinians and that they did not know how many of them were “terrorists”.

Several Nuseirat residents interviewed on BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program said they did not want to leave the camp after the operation because nowhere else in Gaza was safe.

Khalil al-Tahran said: “They fired rockets at the house opposite us. I thought my family and I would definitely die. Another rocket also hit our door. And of course there was destruction.” widespread destruction”.

“But where should we hide now?”

Another man, Salem Wali al-Dasht, said: “Death here will be no different from death. [somewhere else]… that’s why we decided to stay where we are.”

An Israeli doctor who treated the hostages after the rescue said they had endured “harsh experiences, torture almost daily”.

“Every hour, physically, mentally and otherwise, and it’s something beyond comprehension,” Dr. Itai Pessach of Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan told CNN.

He also said their time in captivity had “left a significant mark on their health”.

This is due to “a combination of psychological stress, malnutrition… medical neglect, restriction.” [in] space, the sun cannot be seen,” he explained.

UN spokesman Mr. Laurence noted that the UN human rights office’s ability to verify casualty reports during the hostage rescue operation was limited due to limited access, but the agency This still has “reliable” contacts on the ground.

He also said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed United Nations Security Council resolution endorses the proposed ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamasoutlined by the US last month.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Israeli Prime Minister “reaffirmed his commitment” to the plan at Monday’s meeting.

Hamas has not yet accepted this, but Blinken said the group’s statement welcoming the UN resolution was a “hopeful sign”.

The Israeli military launched an operation in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, which left about 1,200 people dead and another 251 taken hostage. believe.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 37,120 people have been killed in Gaza since then.

A deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 hostages in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and about 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. Israel said 116 hostages were still being held, 41 of whom were presumed dead.