UN Human Rights Chief Condemns Israel's Blockade Against Gaza And Hostage By Palestinian Militants

Airstrikes in Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons/Fars News)

UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said Israel's retaliatory airstrike against the Hamas militant group hit residential and school buildings across the Gaza Strip, adding a siege carried out illegally under international law.

On the other hand, Turk also condemned "the mass killings carried out by members of the Palestinian armed group", insisting the kidnapping of hostages by militants was also prohibited under international law.

Israeli airstrikes also hit "the UN aid and occupation agency UNRWA (the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency)," a UN human rights office statement said, adding civilians were among the dead and injured.

Israel is known to have vowed to take "great revenge" after last weekend's Hamas attack. Israeli media said 900 people were killed in the attack, mostly civilians. Nearly 700 Gazans were killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza officials and the entire district.

Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva criticized Turk's statement.

"He does not condemn those who carried out attacks (Hamas) as terrorists," he said.

Turk further said, "Israel's interception that endangers the lives of civilians by seizing essential items for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law".

"This risks exacerbating the already bad human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the capacity of medical facilities to operate, especially given the increasing number of injured victims," he explained, assessing the siege may mean collective punishment.

Such actions may constitute war crimes, UN Human Rights spokesman Ravina Shamdasani said. The UN's human rights office findings are based on reviews of available material, including from their field monitors, he said.

Separately, the UN-appointed Investigative Commission said in a statement there was "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed" by all parties in conflict. It said it was gathering evidence to ensure future legal accountability.

About 187,500 people have fled their homes in Gaza, a UN humanitarian office spokesman said at the same briefing, warning of a shortage of water and electricity.

"UNICEF is deeply concerned about measures to cut electricity, cut food, cut water, and cut fuel entering Gaza. This will add to the layer of suffering in disasters faced by many families in Gaza," said UN children's agency spokeswoman James Elder.

"Hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian children have been killed since the weekend," he added without providing further details.