The UN human rights office stated on Tuesday that the deaths of civilians in Gaza during an Israeli operation to rescue four hostages, as well as the Palestinian armed groups’ practice of holding captives in densely populated areas, could be considered war crimes.
According to Israel, the operation, which included an air assault, occurred on Saturday in the midst of a residential neighborhood in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area, where Hamas fighters had reportedly kept the hostages in two separate apartment buildings.
The operation resulted in the deaths of over 270 Palestinians.
Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, expressed concern about the way the raid was conducted in such a densely populated area, questioning whether the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution outlined in the laws of war were followed by Israeli forces.
Laurence also criticized the practice of holding hostages in densely populated areas by Palestinian armed groups, stating that it endangered the lives of Palestinian civilians and the hostages themselves.
He stated that these actions by both parties could be considered war crimes.
In response, Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva accused the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of “slandering Israel.”
The mission stated, “The toll on civilians in this war is primarily the result of Hamas’s deliberate strategy to cause maximum harm to civilians.”
The conflict in Gaza began when Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7 and killed approximately 1,200 people, according to Israeli sources. Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion of Gaza resulted in the deaths of over 37,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory.
On October 7, gunmen took approximately 250 hostages back to Gaza, over 100 of whom were released in exchange for about 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons during a week-long ceasefire in November.
According to Israeli reports, there are still 116 hostages in Gaza, including at least 40 who have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
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