Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A fragile ceasefire is allowing the people of Gaza to breathe, Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees to be released, and lifesaving humanitarian aid to be delivered.
“At this tenuous moment, the world must ask itself how to resolve this decades old conflict and stop the cycle of violence. Any plans for a better future must deal with the past, so accountability and justice for violations are crucial,” Türk said.
“In Gaza, they have been subjected to blockades amounting to collective punishment. In the West Bank, illegal settlements and violence have been growing for decades, in violation of international law, with a significant increase over the past three years. Most of these violations have gone unpunished,” he said.
“There is absolutely no justification for the horrific attacks committed on 7 October 2023 when Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups brutally assaulted Israeli communities, killed civilians, and took over 250 hostages, and I have repeatedly condemned these acts,” Türk said.
“And nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 48,000 people, most of whom are women and children, have been killed. Over 35,000 children have lost one or both parents. More than 1,054 medical personnel have been killed, with many others injured or detained by Israeli Forces. At least 277 United Nations staff have been killed, as well as a reported 200 journalists and media workers,” Türk said.
“As my Office and others have documented, Israel’s means and methods of warfare have caused staggering levels of casualties and destruction, raising concerns over the commission of war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes,” he added.
In the West Bank, Israel has ramped up its use of unnecessary and disproportionate force against Palestinians, has destroyed refugee camps, and displaced tens of thousands of people. In the northern West Bank, many are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Israel has severely restricted movement, arrested thousands and subjected them to torture and ill-treatment, and has undertaken other practices that could constitute collective punishment. The Palestinian Authority is also arbitrarily detaining, torturing, and ill-treating many detainees, including some it perceives as political opponents.
There has been an unprecedented disregard for the principles of international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities in Gaza and Israel since October 2023.
There have been a limited number of investigations and indictments by the Israeli authorities, for example, for abuse of detainees, “However, there are serious doubts about the capacity and will of the Israeli justice system to deliver full accountability, in line with international standards, notably in relation to the unlawful killing of Palestinians in Gaza or in the West Bank,” he said.
According to the report, there are serious doubts about the capacity and will of the Israeli justice system to ensure comprehensive accountability, in line with international standards of impartiality, independence, promptness, and effectiveness.
“Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have taken, held, and tortured hostages in Gaza, and have indiscriminately fired projectiles into Israeli territory, amounting to war crimes. There are grave concerns that they may have committed other serious breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza, including the intentional co-location of military objectives and Palestinian civilians,” he said.
“Any attempts at shaping a peaceful future where such horrors do not recur must ensure that perpetrators are held to account. The tragic record of this conflict, and of so many other conflicts, shows clearly how impunity begets more violence. Abuse is given free rein to ripple across other war zones. This harms us all, and generations down the line. Delegitimising and threatening international institutions that are there to serve people and uphold international law also harms us all,” Türk said.
He called for an independent investigation into grave violations of international law, committed by Israel in the course of its attacks across Gaza, and by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
For more information and media requests, please contact
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
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STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
TRT: 04:34
SOURCE: OHCHR/UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: Please shot list
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
DATELINE: 1-4 FEBRUARY 2025, JABALIYA
DATELINE: 02 FEBRUARY 2025, JENIN, WEST BANK
DATELINE: 20 FEBRUARY 2025, GAZA CITY
DATELINE: 22 FEBRUARY 2025, JABALIA
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza, are unconscionable. For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured,” Jeremy Laurence UN Human Rights spokesperson said at the biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
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Edited News | OCHA
Gaza ‘hungriest place on earth’ with aid stymied – UN humanitarians
Starving Gazans continue to be deprived of aid as international relief efforts are being severely constrained by the Israeli authorities, the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said on Friday.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNRWA
As a controversial United States and Israel-backed aid distribution plan gets underway in Gaza, the UN called on Tuesday for an “immediate surge” of its own pre-positioned supplies to help prevent starvation.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani today urged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject a bill that was recently endorsed by parliament allowing trials of civilians in military courts. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Amendment Bill 2025, which was passed on 20 May and now awaits presidential signature to become law, among others broadens the jurisdiction of military courts, authorising them to try a wide range of offences against civilians.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today warned of a further deterioration in the human rights situation in South Sudan at the bi-weekly briefing in Geneva.
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Edited News | OCHA , WHO
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Millions of people in Syria continue to face mortal danger from unexploded munitions, disease and malnutrition and urgent support is required, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
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Edited News | UNRWA , OCHA , WHO
UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as civilian needs mount
Amid calls for more humanitarian trucks to enter the food and medicine-deprived Palestinian enclave of Gaza, UN humanitarians have received permission from Israel for “around 100” more aid trucks to cross into the Strip after only five were let in yesterday, But the scale of relief efforts allowed remains entirely insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there, humanitarian workers say.
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Edited News
A war reporter from Lebanon who lost a limb in the line of duty is calling for an end to impunity for attacks against journalists.
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Edited News | ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commemorated 160 years dedicated to connecting the world on Saturday, 17 May in Geneva, Switzerland, during the annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
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Edited News | WHO , OCHA
Gazans ‘in terror’ after another night of deadly strikes and siege
Amid reports that Israeli strikes across Gaza into Friday killed at least 64 people, aid teams once again pushed back strongly at allegations that aid is being diverted to Hamas and pleaded for the blockade to end.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Deportations over recent months of large numbers of non-nationals from the United States of America, especially to countries other than those of their origin, raise a number of human rights concerns, the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned on Tuesday.
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Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Over 50 child malnutrition deaths amid aid blockade; entire generation will be ‘permanently affected’ - WHO
In the aid desert of Gaza, malnourished children are dying while survivors can expect a lifetime of dire health problems, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.