UN experts say Israel's strikes on Gaza amount to 'collective punishment'

UN experts condemn violence against civilians, Iran's FM accuses Israel of seeking 'genocide' by Gaza siege

DUBAI/ GENEVA/ JERUSALEM:

A group of independent United Nations experts on Thursday condemned violence against civilians in Israel and deplored the "collective punishment" of reprisal strikes against Gaza.

While condemning the "horrific crimes committed by Hamas", the group said that Israel had resorted to "indiscriminate military attacks against the already exhausted Palestinian people of Gaza".

Palestinian children injured in Israeli strikes are brought to a hospital, in Gaza City, October 11. PHOTO: REUTERS

"They have lived under unlawful blockade for 16 years, and already gone through five major brutal wars, which remain unaccounted for," the group, which includes several UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement.

IDF strike on Mukhabarat towers in the northern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/ZwNR2MpSQF

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"This amounts to collective punishment. There is no justification for violence that indiscriminately targets innocent civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces. This is absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime."

The group said that taking hostages in the context of hostilities also constituted a war crime.

"The civilians taken by Hamas must be immediately released, pending which their fate and whereabouts must be disclosed," the experts said.

The Israeli death toll had risen to more than 1,300 people since Saturday. Most were civilians gunned down by Hamas in their homes, on the streets or at a dance party.

Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza.

Israel confirms 97 being held hostage by Hamas

The Israeli army confirmed on Thursday that 97 Israelis were taken hostage by the Palestinian group Hamas during the Saturday morning attack, saying that their families have been informed of the situation and their release may take a "longer time."

“We are aware of the situation of the families waiting for news regarding the fate of their relatives,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement.

Read also: Palestinians bombarded by Israel have no hope and no escape

Israel said on Thursday there would be no humanitarian break to its siege of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed.

Iran accuses Israel of seeking 'genocide' by besieging Gaza

Iran's foreign minister accused Israel of seeking "genocide" by enforcing a siege against Gaza, according to Iranian state TV, before a visit to Iraq's capital on Thursday.

Aftermath of IDF strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. pic.twitter.com/cNGNQwFBPS

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"Today, the continuation of war crimes by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and Zionists against the civilians of Gaza, besieging, cutting off water and electricity, and denying entry of medicine and food, has created conditions where the Zionists are seeking a genocide of all people in Gaza," Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

The ruins of Palestinian houses hit by Israeli strikes at al-Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, October 12, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS

"The war we witness today in the Gaza Strip is not just the Zionists' war against Hamas, it is the Zionists' war against all Palestinians."

Palestinians gather on rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 11. PHOTO: REUTERS