UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the series of Israeli raids on Rafah in the past few days that resulted in the killing of people, most of them children and women, reiterating his warning against any large-scale incursion into the area where “1.2 million civilians are being forcibly besieged.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mr. Türk reiterated that such an operation would lead to further violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and would “lead to more atrocity crimes, for which those responsible will be held accountable.”
The High Commissioner said that world leaders were united on the need to protect the civilian population besieged in Rafah, adding: “The most recent scenes of baby Khadija (born prematurely) taken from her dying mother’s womb, and of two neighboring houses where 15 children and five women were killed – this goes beyond war.” “.
UNHCR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said during a press conference in Geneva that the story of this child greatly affected her as a “mother and a woman.” She told reporters that about 180 Gazan women give birth every day “in inhumane and unimaginable conditions.”
According to authorities in Gaza, 14,685 children and 9,670 women were killed out of 34,151 Palestinians killed in Gaza by 22 April. Another 77,084 were injured, while more than seven thousand others are presumed to still be under the rubble.
“Every ten minutes a child is killed or injured,” Ms. Shamdasani said. “I will let you count the number of children who have been killed or injured since this press conference began today. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war.”
