The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN rights chief condemns Israeli minister for justifying war crime starvation of civilians in Gaza
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is “shocked and appalled”, a spokesman said, at Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s statement earlier this week in which he deplored aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip and suggested that the deliberate starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza could be “justified and moral” as long as Israeli hostages are held by Hamas.
“The High Commissioner condemns these words in the strongest terms,” said Jeremy Laurence, UN human rights spokesperson, at the press briefing in Geneva. “They also incite hatred against innocent civilians. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime,” insisted Mr. Laurence, echoing previous warnings from the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, against preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in emergency conditions, which is an obligation under international humanitarian law.
According to the UN’s human rights office, Mr. Türk fears that this direct and public statement, especially by a public official, risks inciting other atrocity crimes, and called for such statements to cease immediately. “They must be investigated and, if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished,” Mr. Laurence said.
Amid the escalation of regional tensions following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran, Mr. Laurence also repeated the importance of achieving a cease-fire. “All hostages must be released, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into Gaza,” he said.
Hungry and displaced Gazans
According to UN humanitarians, Israel has been severely impeding the humanitarian response to the catastrophe faced by Gazans since last October’s deadly cross-border massacre by Hamas, thereby leaving the Strip’s population on the verge of famine, with hardly any clean water nor medicine.
Back from a mission to Gaza, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Salim Oweis told journalists in Geneva how he had been shocked by the depth of suffering, destruction and widespread displacement in Gaza. “The footage the world sees on television gives an important peek into the living hell people are enduring for over 10 months. What it does not fully show is how behind the crumbled buildings, whole neighborhoods, livelihoods and dreams have been levelled to the ground. When you see an image of a displaced mother carrying her child and all their belongings on her back, you do not see the hundreds of uprooted people following her up the road,” explained Mr. Oweis.
“The life of a child in Gaza is not a life,” the UNICEF official said, in reference to the horrific consequences having no safe areas, coupled with the lack of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.
“When you walk through the mazes of makeshift shelters, you struggle to climb the sand they lay on and you smell the strong odor of sewage filling the paths around. You are struck by the many children hovering around asking one question “Mister, when will the war end?”
The United Nations and many world leaders have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, along with safe access to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians there. According to media reports, Israel confirmed on Thursday that it will send negotiators for indirect talks with Hamas in response to a proposal by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to resume stalled cease-fire and hostage release negotiations on 15 August.
Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 91,600 injured – most of them women and children - since the beginning of Israel’s military offensive in retaliation for the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Ends
Story: “Gaza starvation remarks reax – OHCHR, UNICEF” – 09 Aug. 2024
Speakers:
- Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR)
- Salim Oweis – UN Children’s Fund Communication Officer (UNICEF), speaking from Amman
TRT: 02’54”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 09 August 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the podium with speakers at the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson: “The High Commissioner is shocked and appalled by the words of Minister Smotrich. According to him, letting two million Palestinians in Gaza starve to death could be justified and moral in order to free hostages. He condemns these words in the strongest terms, which also incite hatred against innocent civilians. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.”
- Wide shot of press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson: “This direct and public statement risks inciting other atrocity crimes. Such statements, especially by public officials, must cease immediately, they must be investigated and, if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished.”
- Medium shot of press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson: “We also repeat what we have said over and over again. There must be an immediate ceasefire. All hostages must be released, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into Gaza.”
- Wide shot of journalists in press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Salim Oweis, UN Children’s Fund Communication Officer (UNICEF): “The footage the world sees on TVs gives an important peek into the living hell people are enduring for over 10 months. What it does not fully show is how behind the crumbled buildings, whole neighborhoods, livelihoods and dreams have been levelled to the ground. When you see an image of a displaced mother carrying her child and all their belongings on her back, you do not see hundreds of uprooted people following her up the road.”
- Wide shot of press conference room and control room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Salim Oweis, UN Children’s Fund Communication Officer (UNICEF): “The life of a child in Gaza, in month ten of this conflict, is not a life. We cannot say it enough – there is no safe place, and everything is running out: food, water, fuel, medicines. Everything. When you walk through the mazes of makeshift shelters, you struggle to climb the sand they lay on and you smell the strong odor of sewage filling the paths around. You are struck by the many children hovering around asking one question ‘Mister, when will the war end?’”
- Various shots of the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.