Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief

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Updated 09 November 2024
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Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief

Israel must comply with ICJ measures to prevent genocide — UN human rights chief
  • Volker Turk’s office publishes report covering violations between November 2023, April 2024
  • UN Human Rights Office: Almost 70% of fatalities in Gaza are children, women

NEW YORK: The UN high commissioner for human rights on Friday called on Israel to “fully and immediately” comply with the provisional measures issued in January by the International Court of Justice demanding action to prevent a genocide from being perpetrated against the Palestinians.

Volker Turk also called on states to honor their obligations under international law and “assess arms sales or transfers and provision of military, logistical or financial support to a party to the conflict, with a view to ending such support if this risks serious violations of international law.”

His warning comes as a new report by his office, published on Friday, warned that “if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, (Israel’s violations) may constitute genocide.”

In January, after considering an original case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, the ICJ issued a ruling that included provisional measures ordering Israel to take action to prevent and punish the commission of, or the incitement to commit, genocide; to halt the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians; and to immediately facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Turk said Israel’s compliance with the ICJ ruling is now “even more critical and urgent” in light of the new report, which details “the horrific reality that has unfolded for the people of Israel and Gaza since 7 October 2023,” and concludes by demanding justice with respect to the grave violations of international law that have been committed.

The ICJ measures are also more pertinent than ever given the most recent events, Turk said, including Israel’s operations in northern Gaza and its adoption of legislation banning the main UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem.

“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” said Turk.

The new report covers violations that occurred from November 2023 to April 2024, including the killing of civilians and breaches of international law that it said could amount to war crimes.

“If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to a State or organizational policy, these violations may constitute crimes against humanity,” the report says.

Turk urged support for the work of accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, in relation to the conflict in Gaza, for the exercise of universal jurisdiction to investigate and try crimes under international law in national courts, and for compliance with extradition requests of suspects of such crimes to countries where they would receive a fair trial.

The report highlights repeated statements from Israeli officials calling for Gaza’s entire destruction and the exodus of its people.

It documents Israel’s efforts to “rationalize discrimination, hostility and violence towards, and even the elimination of, Palestinians.”

The report underscores how civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial “complete siege” of Gaza, as well as Israel’s continuing “unlawful failures” to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and mass displacement of Palestinians.

“This conduct by Israeli Forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease,” the reports says, adding that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have also committed serious violations of international law on a wide scale

“The rules of war, in force now for 160 years, were designed to limit and prevent human suffering in times of armed conflict,” Turk said.

“Their wanton disregard has led to the current extremes of human suffering which we continue to see today.

“It seems inconceivable that the parties to the conflict refuse to apply universally accepted and binding norms developed to preserve the very bare minimum of humanity.”  

The UN Human Rights Office says close to 70 percent of fatalities in Gaza are children and women, indicating “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”

The continuation of these attacks “demonstrates an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare selected,” the report states. 

It also raises concerns over the forcible transfer of Palestinians, attacks on hospitals in “apparent systematic fashion” as well as journalists, and the reported use of white phosphorus munitions.

“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing, and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law — namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack,” Turk said. 

“Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war.

“The trends and patterns of violations, and of applicable international law as clarified by the International Court of Justice, must inform the steps to be taken to end the current crisis,” he added.

“The violence must stop immediately, the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released, and we must focus on flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid.” 


In north Lebanon, Syrian Alawites shelter among graves

Updated 2 sec ago
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In north Lebanon, Syrian Alawites shelter among graves

In north Lebanon, Syrian Alawites shelter among graves
“We each have our own horror story that drove us to this place,” said a man with sunken eyes
Around 600 people have sought shelter at the Hissa mosque

HISSA, Lebanon: Behind a ramshackle mosque in Hissa, north Lebanon, the living are making a home for themselves among the dead.

Beside mounds of garbage in the shade of towering trees, men, women and children from Syria’s minority Alawite community seek shelter among the graves surrounding the half-built mosque — grateful to have escaped the sectarian violence at home but fearing for their future.

“We each have our own horror story that drove us to this place,” said a man with sunken eyes.

One such story was of a mother who had been killed in front of her children by unknown militants as they crossed the border, said others staying at the mosque.

All of the refugees that spoke to Reuters requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

Around 600 people have sought shelter at the Hissa mosque. Hundreds sleep in the main hall, including a day-old baby.

On the building’s unfinished second story, plastic sheets stretched over wooden beams divide traumatized families.

Others sleep on the roof. One family has set up camp under the stairwell, another by the tomb of a local saint. Some sleep on the graves in the surrounding cemetery, others under trees with only thin blankets for warmth.

They are among the tens of thousands refugees who have fled Syria since March, when the country suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar Assad was toppled from power by Islamist-led rebels in December.

Almost 40,000 people have fled Syria into north Lebanon since then, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

The outflow comes at a time when humanitarian funding is being squeezed after US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid and dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this year.

NEEDS BUT NO RESOURCES

The recent violence in Syria, which has pitted the Islamist-led government’s security forces against fighters from the Alawite minority, the sect to which Assad’s family belongs, has killed more than 1,000 people since March.

For more than 50 years, Assad and his father before him crushed any opposition from Syria’s Sunni Muslims, who make up more than 70 percent of the population. Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, took many of the top positions in government and the military and ran big businesses.

Alawites now accuse the new government of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa of exacting revenge, but Sharaa says he will pursue inclusive policies to unite the country shattered by civil war and attract foreign investment.

Trump said last week he would lift sanctions on Syria, triggering hopes of economic renewal. But this has provided little comfort to the refugees in northern Lebanon, who are struggling to meet their basic needs.

“UNHCR, but also other agencies, are not now in a position to say you can count on us,” said Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR representative in Lebanon, in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation in April.

“So, in response to new arrivals, yes, we will try, but it will be less (than before).”

More refugees come from Syria every day. Almost 50 people arrived over two days last week, said one camp representative, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

UNHCR is equipping new arrivals with essential items like mattresses, blankets and clothes, as well as providing medical help and mental health support, said a spokesperson.

“UNHCR is also conducting rehabilitation works in shelters to make sure families are protected,” the spokesperson added.

’FORGOTTEN’ REFUGEES

At the mosque, food is scarce and the portable toilets provided by an aid group have flooded. Garbage is piling up and is attracting vermin. Snakes have been killed in the camp, and one refugee spoke of the “biggest centipedes we have ever seen.”

The camp’s children have nowhere to go.

It can be difficult for refugee children to access Lebanon’s school system, Human Rights Watch has said, while the refugees at the mosque say private schools are too expensive and may not accept children enrolling mid-year.

“We are becoming a refugee camp without realizing it,” said another man, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We need schools, we need toilets, we need clinics.”

He said he fled his home in Damascus after being warned by his neighbor that militants were asking about him. He never expects to go back and is hoping to move abroad.

But in the meantime, he said he needs to create a life for his children.

“What’s his fault?” he asked, beckoning to his nine-year-old son. “He was a computer whiz and now he is not even going to school.”

The refugees sheltering in the mosque are among the millions of people affected by Trump’s decision to freeze US funding to humanitarian programs in February.

The UNHCR has been forced to reduce all aspects of its operations in Lebanon, Freijsen said, including support to Syrian refugees.

The UNHCR had enough money to cover only 14 percent of its planned operations in Lebanon and 17 percent of its global operations by the end of March, the UN agency said in a report.

“Our assistance is not what it is supposed to be,” Freijsen said. “In the past, we always had the resources, or we could easily mobilize the resources. These days are over, and that’s painful.”

The people in the mosque fear that they have been forgotten.

“Human rights are a lie,” a third man said, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. “It is just something (that the powerful) instrumentalize when they want.”

More than 70 UN member states demand protection of civilians amid mounting fears over Gaza

More than 70 UN member states demand protection of civilians amid mounting fears over Gaza
Updated 4 min 41 sec ago
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More than 70 UN member states demand protection of civilians amid mounting fears over Gaza

More than 70 UN member states demand protection of civilians amid mounting fears over Gaza
  • Joint statement ahead of UN debate on the issue highlights plight of Palestinians as Israel launches major offensive
  • ‘Today, we come with one clear message: The protection of civilians is not optional,’ the states say

NEW YORK CITY: More than 70 UN member states signed a joint statement calling for the urgent protection of civilians in armed conflicts, amid fears that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza could face starvation.

The statement preceded an annual open debate at the UN on the issue of protecting civilians, which included a briefing from the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, who this week warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza were at risk of dying from hunger. Israel launched its latest major military offensive in the territory this week.

“Civilians in armed conflicts continue to live under unthinkable conditions of constant danger, insecurity and suffering,” the joint statement said.

At least 36,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts last year, and tens of thousands of people were injured as a result of explosive devices, it added.

It cited reports from the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, that warned Gaza is facing the “worst humanitarian crisis” since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023.

“This cannot continue,” the statement continued. “Today, we come with one clear message: The protection of civilians is not optional. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law, and a moral imperative we cannot afford to neglect.

“Civilian women and men, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities, all suffer. Health workers, farmers, teachers are killed, injured and forced to flee. Civilians are too often targeted or simply abandoned in the calculus of war.

“Their protection must not be a secondary consideration — it must be central to all military planning and political decisions.”

The UN debate on Thursday also included a briefing by Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The organization has repeatedly warned of imminent famine in Gaza, following Israel’s implementation in March of a blockade on humanitarian goods entering the territory.

Although the blockade was lifted this week, the UN has still struggled to transport desperately needed aid into the enclave. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that the Israeli military has provided aid trucks with access to Gaza only via an unsafe road. Discussions between the international organization and Israel are ongoing, he added.

The joint statement said: “We commend the vital role of humanitarian actors, and we condemn all acts of violence and threats against them. Last year was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian personnel, when more than 360 humanitarians were killed in 20 countries.

“This has to stop. We reaffirm our determination to take concrete measures and use diplomatic means to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel, and to enable them to carry out their activities and mandate in accordance with humanitarian principles.”

Several major countries were absent from the list of signatories, but those who did sign included the EU, China and France, as well as Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arab world.

“Let us reiterate our collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable, to uphold international law, to prioritize the safety, dignity and rights of civilians, and to ensure that their faces and voices — so often invisible and silenced behind statistics — remain central to our actions,” the statement added.

“Let us recommit not only to words, but to concrete steps — toward protection, toward accountability, and ultimately, toward peace.”


UAE calls for investigation after Israeli forces fire near visiting diplomats

UAE calls for investigation after Israeli forces fire near visiting diplomats
Updated 6 min 13 sec ago
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UAE calls for investigation after Israeli forces fire near visiting diplomats

UAE calls for investigation after Israeli forces fire near visiting diplomats
  • ‘Warning shots’ reported as envoys toured Jenin in West Bank
  • Action ‘clear violation of international laws,’ foreign ministry says

LONDON: The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for an investigation into Israeli forces opening fire during a visit by foreign diplomats to the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

The ministry on Thursday condemned the incident near the Jenin camp entrance which drew condemnation from more than 20 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UK, Italy, China, Egypt, France, Jordan, Turkiye and Russia.

It said the Israeli action was a clear violation of international laws and norms that ensure the protection of diplomats and their missions and obstructed international efforts to achieve peace and stability, the Emirates News Agency reported.

It called for the violations to be investigated and the perpetrators punished.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces reported firing “warning shots” during a visit by foreign diplomats to Jenin. It said it “regrets the inconvenience caused” by the shooting, which resulted in no injuries.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Israel to hold to account those responsible for the shootings.

The incident came as international pressure intensified over the war in Gaza, where Palestinians remain desperate for supplies despite the easing of a two-month aid blockade.


Gaza ambulance fleet down to a third, Palestinian Red Crescent says

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
Updated 6 min ago
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Gaza ambulance fleet down to a third, Palestinian Red Crescent says

The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
  • “We are running out of fuel. The capacity of ambulances we work with now is one third,” Al-Khatib said
  • Gasoline-powered ambulances had already halted but PRCS had some that were running on solar power provided by UN, he said

GENEVA: The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Thursday its operations in Gaza may stop within days in the absence of fresh supplies and its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
Flour and other aid began reaching some of Gaza’s most vulnerable areas on Thursday after Israel let some trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week Israeli blockade, Palestinian officials said.
Israel said it let in 100 trucks carrying baby food and medical equipment on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the blockade under mounting international pressure amid warnings of starvation in Gaza.
Asked how long his organization could continue operating in Gaza, Palestine Red Crescent Society President Younis Al-Khatib told reporters in Geneva: “It’s a matter of time. It could be days.
“We are running out of fuel. The capacity of ambulances we work with now is one third,” he added, saying its gasoline-powered ambulances had already halted but it had some that were running on solar power provided by the United Nations.
The PRCS is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and provides medical care in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Al-Khatib criticized the small amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza so far, warning of the risk of mob attacks.
“I think that is an invitation for killing. These people are starving,” he said.
Israel, at war with Gaza’s dominant militant group Hamas since October 2023, has repeatedly defended its controls on aid in the enclave, saying there is enough food there and denying accusations of causing starvation.
He added his voice to criticism of a US-backed organization that aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May overseeing a new model of aid distribution. “It’s not up for discussion. No, no, no,” he said.
“The world should not give up on the system as we know it.”
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation intends to work with private US security and logistics firms to provide aid to 300,000 people from distribution hubs in Gaza’s south. Gaza’s total population is 2.3 million, most of it displaced.


Jordan-Syria coordination council will strengthen ties, King Abdullah says

Jordan-Syria coordination council will strengthen ties, King Abdullah says
Updated 22 May 2025
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Jordan-Syria coordination council will strengthen ties, King Abdullah says

Jordan-Syria coordination council will strengthen ties, King Abdullah says
  • Nations’ leaders speak after deal signed to establish new body
  • Ahmed Al-Sharaa praises Jordan’s support for Syria

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan and Syrian Arab Republic interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa spoke on Thursday about bilateral relations and regional developments.

The telephone conversation came after the two countries this week signed an agreement to establish the Higher Coordination Council, which aims to strengthen collaboration in key sectors such as water, energy and trade.

The king said the new body would institutionalize cooperation and maximize opportunities for both nations. He also reiterated his support for Syrians and the country’s security, stability and territorial integrity, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Al-Sharaa praised Jordan’s support for enhancing Syria’s international presence after both the EU and US this month announced the lifting of Assad-era sanctions on the country.

The two leaders also emphasized the need to increase efforts to stabilize southern Syria and improve border security.