UN human rights chief condemns 'mass killing' of Palestinians in Gaza

The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for its "mass killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and "hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid", saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice.

Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of UN staff had urged him to do.

But in his opening address to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk expressed horror at what he called "the open use of genocidal rhetoric" and "disgraceful dehumanisation" of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials.

"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; and its commission of war crime upon war crime, are shocking the conscience of the world," said Turk.

"Israel has a case to answer before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the evidence continues to mount," Turk said, referring to the ICJ's ruling in January that Israel had a legal obligation to prevent acts of genocide.

Israel's delegation to the UN in Geneva said it would respond to a request for comment shortly.

Israel has previously rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to self-defence following the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's subsequent campaign has killed almost 63,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, while a global hunger monitor says part of the territory is experiencing famine.

Turk also addressed human rights and the international order worldwide, saying they were being undermined by "disturbing trends" including the glorification of violence and the retreat of some states from the multilateral system.

"Rules of war are being shredded - with virtually no accountability," he said.

Turk condemned what he said were widespread violations following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as in conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.