“I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark
could lead to a much broader conflagration,” Volker Türk
told the Human Rights Council, the
UN’s top rights forum.
Spillover risk
In a scheduled update on global crises to
the Council’s 47 Member States, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights insisted that the international community should do
“everything possible” to avoid a further spillover of conflict in
Gaza.
His comments came amid calls for an “immediate ceasefire for at
least the next six weeks” to facilitate the release of Israeli
hostages from United States’ Vice President Kamala Harris, while
international negotiations for a ceasefire continued in Egypt on
Sunday, reportedly involving the US, Qatari and Hamas envoys but
not so far, Israeli representatives.
Lebanon danger
The risks to regional stability were already apparent in southern
Lebanon, Mr. Türk said, emphasizing that militia fighters
sympathetic to the Palestinian cause were now engaged in an
“extremely worrying” uptick of hostilities and exchanges of fire
with Israel, along the UN-monitored Blue Line that
separates both countries.
Almost 200 people have been killed in Lebanon since war erupted
in Gaza¸ the High Commissioner continued, with children,
paramedics and journalists among the victims.
Some 90,000 people in Lebanon had been displaced by the violence,
Mr. Türk said, amid “extensive damage to health facilities,
schools, and vital infrastructure”. Israeli communities had also
seen 80,000 people uprooted from border areas because of the
violent escalation, the UN rights chief noted.
Child deaths update
In a related development, the enclave’s health authorities
announced that at least 15 children have now died from
malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza
City.
Many more youngsters will likely die in the coming days, unless
aid is ramped up without delay, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday.
“The child deaths we feared are here and are likely to
rapidly increase unless the war ends and obstacles to
humanitarian relief are immediately resolved,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF
Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
9,000 women killed in Gaza
Gaza’s health authorities have reported that more than 30,400
people have been killed in the Strip – mostly women and children
– amid intense Israeli bombardment and a ground operation against
Hamas fighters.
UN
Women estimated before the weekend
that around 9,000 women have been reportedly killed by Israeli
forces since the war erupted nearly five months ago. However, the
figure is likely to be higher as many more are reported dead
under the rubble.
