UN 'shocked' by impact of Israeli hostage rescue on Gaza civilians

Legend, Hamas-led authorities in Gaza say dozens of homes damaged in operation

Author, David Gritten
Role, BBC News
4 minutes ago

The UN human rights office says it is “deeply shocked” by the impact on civilians of the Israeli operation in central Gaza which saved four hostages held by Hamas.

Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people were killed and injured Saturday in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said fewer than 100 people were killed.

UN spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said the action by Israeli forces “seriously calls into question respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution…” and could constitute war crimes.

He also said Palestinian armed groups could be charged with war crimes for continuing to hold hostages in built-up areas and “putting the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as those of the hostages themselves, in danger.”

The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva has accused the UN human rights office of “slander”.

“The toll of this war on civilians is primarily the product of Hamas’ deliberate strategy to maximize harm to civilians,” a statement said.

“Those who continue to protect Hamas terrorists, including (the UN human rights office), are complicit in the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis.”

The Israeli military has repeatedly stated that it operates in accordance with international law.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The four hostages released on Saturday – Noa Argamani, Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv – were held in two apartment buildings about 200 meters apart in Nuseirat – a historic urban refugee camp that seen an influx of displaced people since the start of the war.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli commandos took Ms. Argamani’s Hamas guards by surprise and quickly killed them. But the simultaneous decision to release Mr. Ziv, Mr. Kozlov and Mr. Meir from the second building sparked a violent shootout with their guards, in which a senior Israeli police officer was fatally wounded.

As the commandos evacuated to the coast, they came under fire from fighters armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the Israeli military said. In response, Israeli aircraft, artillery and ships carried out intense strikes on the area.

The Hamas-run government media office reported that 64 children, 57 women and 37 elderly people were among the dead.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said its teams, along with medical staff at al-Aqsa hospital in the neighboring town of Deir al-Balah and Nasser hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis, treated hundreds of seriously injured patients, many of whom were injured. women and children.

The charity also cited one of its Palestinian doctors, Dr. Hazem Maloh, who said dozens of men, women and children had been killed, including his neighbors, friends or relatives.

The director of al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program that 142 dead and 250 injured were taken to hospital on Saturday, and that almost a quarter of the deaths were women and men. children.

A senior official at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said its health center in Nuseirat had treated more than 125 injured people.

Legend, Almog Meir, one of the four rescued hostages, was reunited with his family on Saturday in a hospital in Israel.

Mr Laurence noted that the UN human rights office’s ability to verify reports on victims was limited due to access constraints, but that it still had “reliable” contacts on the ground.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Israeli prime minister had “reaffirmed his commitment” to the plan during a meeting on Monday.

Hamas has not yet accepted it, but Blinken said a statement from the group welcoming the U.N. resolution was a “sign of hope.”

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

Since then, more than 37,120 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

A deal reached in November allowed Hamas to release 105 hostages in exchange for a one-week ceasefire and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel says 116 hostages remain held, 41 of whom are presumed dead.