UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Friday that the darkest chapter of the Gaza war is taking place in the north, where the entire population is under Israeli military bombardment, siege and starvation.
The people of northern Gaza are forced to choose between mass displacement and being trapped in an area plagued by violent conflict.
“There is continuous bombardment of northern Gaza. The Israeli army has ordered millions to leave and there is no guarantee they will return. But there is no safe way.”
The head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reminded countries of their obligations under the Geneva Conventions to respect international humanitarian law.
“Unbelievably, the situation is getting worse by the day.”
Volker Turk expressed his dismay that the policies and practices of the Israeli government risked the exclusion of all Palestinians from northern Gaza. “What we are facing could amount to a crime of atrocity, which could also be a crime against humanity.”
Hit the red tape
Gaza has been at war for more than a year. While seriously injured children need to be taken out of Gaza for better treatment, it is currently mired in red tape that is adding to the children’s suffering.
The current rate is less than one child per day, while many children require emergency health care for wounds, burns, disabilities, malnutrition and other ailments including cancer.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva on Friday that the operation was not an operational issue. They have no problem with our ability to get these children out of Gaza.
Until a few months ago, we were able to take a large number of children from Gaza for treatment. This is a problem that is being completely ignored.
A UNICEF spokesperson said when children are not referred for better treatment because of unnecessary red tape, nothing can be done. No reason was given for denying these requests.
According to him, if the current rate continues, it will take more than seven years to send the estimated 2,500 children waiting for medical care out of Gaza.
More than a million Palestinians have been injured in the year-long war, many of them maimed.
Violation of human rights
From January 1 to May 7, an average of 296 children needed to be evacuated from Gaza each month for medical reasons. However, after the Israeli ground offensive began on 7 May, the Rafah border crossing on the border with Egypt and Gaza was closed, after which the number of children taken per month dropped to 127.
A UNICEF spokesperson said children are being denied access to medical care, a basic human right. Those who somehow survived the brutal bombing were sentenced to death due to their injuries.
Meanwhile, independent UN human rights experts say the needs of people with disabilities trapped in the ongoing fighting in Gaza are being ignored.
According to one estimate, many of the more than 100,000 injured Palestinians need, but are not receiving, long-term rehabilitation, assistive devices, psychosocial support and other services.
The Special Rapporteur expresses his dismay that persons with disabilities do not pose a security threat, yet they continue to be subjected to indiscriminate attacks.
Independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council are not representatives of any government or organization and do not receive compensation for their work.