Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a sharp condemnation of Israeli genocide in Gaza during an update he delivered to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Sept. 8. “Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza; its infliction of indescribable suffering and wholesale destruction; its hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid and the ensuing starvation of civilians; its killing of journalists, UN staff and NGO workers; and its commission of war crime upon war crime, are shocking the conscience of the world,” he said. “I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric, and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials.”
“The region is crying out for peace. Gaza is a graveyard. Israel remains in deep trauma after the horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October [2023] and the continued holding of hostages,” Türk added. “Further militarization, occupation, annexation and oppression will only feed more violence, retribution, and terror.”
