<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/18/un-human-rights-chief-voices-horror-at-israel-new-gaza-strikes>
"World governments and UN officials have expressed horror and dismay at
Israel’s resumption of strikes on Gaza that killed hundreds within a few hours,
warning the assault could shatter a ceasefire that was intended to be
permanent.
Jordan, a US ally that has a peace agreement with Israel, called the strikes
“aggressive and barbaric”. Egypt, which also has a diplomatic relationship with
Israel and helped mediate the truce, called the bombing a “flagrant violation”
of the ceasefire that took effect in mid-January.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said Palestinians in Gaza were
being subjected to an “intolerable level of suffering”, while Philippe
Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said
resuming the war would fuel “hell on Earth”.
The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, said the “airstrikes and shelling,
which killed hundreds, are horrifying. This nightmare must end immediately.”
Türk added that the strikes would “add tragedy on to tragedy”, while calling
for an immediate end to the violence, the unconditional release of hostages
held by Hamas militants and all those arbitrarily detained – a reference to
Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
“The last 18 months of violence have made abundantly clear that there is no
military path out of this crisis,” he said, calling for a political settlement
in line with international law. “Israel’s resort to yet more military force
will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering
catastrophic conditions.”
Separately, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian
territory, Muhannad Hadi, described Israel’s renewed assault as
“unconscionable”.
While Israel says the war is targeted at Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli
prime minister, is fighting allegations of war crimes and crimes against
humanity at the international criminal court, including starvation of civilians
and “extermination”. The Israeli government is separately disputing allegations
of genocide."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
