UN Expert Confirms Israel Is Trying To Make Gaza Uninhabitable

UN Human Rights Special Reporter Total Albanese. (Wikimedia Commons/Photographruhi official de la Presidencia de Colombia)

JAKARTA - United Nations expert on Palestinian rightsUS Albanese said Israel was trying to make Gaza's city uninhabitable in its attack on the largest urban area in the Palestinian enclave, endangering the lives of Israeli hostages.

"Israel bombed using non-conventional weapons. Israel is trying to forcibly evacuate Palestinians. Why? This is the last part of Gaza that needs to be uninhabitable before continuing ethnic cleansing in the region," Albanese told reporters in Geneva.

Meanwhile, Israel's Permanent Mission to the United Nations rejected Albanese's comments.

"His various statements have shown his willingness to make extreme efforts in delegitizing the State of Israel," the Mission said in a statement.

"In his opinion, Hamas does not invest itself in civilian infrastructure, does not cynically use civilians as human shields, and in general it does not really exist," the mission added.

Israel says the attack on control of Gaza City is part of a plan to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas once and for all, warning civilians to head south towards a predetermined humanitarian zone.

However, the United Nations and many countries say its tactics are forced mass evacuation and conditions in the humanitarian zone are very bad, with limited food supplies.

Albanese serves as a special reporter for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council consisting of 47 people to report certain global issues.

"The ongoing attack to seize Gaza's last remnant will not only destroy Palestine but also endanger the remaining Israeli hostages," Albanese said.

He considered Israel to have committed genocide. Several human rights groups such as Amnesty International also accused Israel of committing genocide.

Israel rejected the allegations, citing its right to self-defense following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the arrest of 251 hostages, according to Israeli data.

Meanwhile, Gaza's medical authorities confirmed that as of Monday the death toll in the Gaza Strip had reached 64,905 people, the majority of women and children, since the start of Israeli aggression in October 2023, while at least 164,926 people were injured in the same period, quoted from WAFA.

That number included 2,497 people who died and 18,182 people were injured while seeking help amid the alarming Gaza situation.

This includes the death toll from hunger and malnutrition, where the number has reached 425 people, including 145 children.