UN rights chief 'horrified' by open use of genocidal rhetoric by Israel officials

LONDON

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Monday denounced the "indescribable suffering and wholesale destruction" in Gaza, saying he is "horrified" by the use of genocidal rhetoric by senior Israeli officials.

"Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza; its infliction of indescribable suffering and wholesale destruction ... and its commission of war crime upon war crime, are shocking the conscience of the world," Turk said during his address at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Defining the besieged Palestinian enclave as "a graveyard," the UN rights chief underlined that the region is "crying out for peace."

"I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric, and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials," Turk said.

He reiterated that Israel has a legal obligation to take the steps ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent acts of genocide, punish incitement to genocide, and ensure enough aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza.

"Further militarization, occupation, annexation, and oppression will only feed more violence, retribution, and terror," Turk warned.

"We need action now, to end the carnage," he underlined, adding that the international community is failing in its duty and "we are failing the people of Gaza."

Rejecting "inaction" over Gaza, he said it is not an option, as he also noted that arms supply to Israel that risk violating the laws of war must end.

Israel has killed more than 64,500 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.