The United Nations human rights body has said Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes in a deadly raid. The weekend raid at the urban Nuseirat refugee camp by Israeli forces that freed four hostages weekend killed hundreds of Palestinians.
The body spokesperson as per AP expressed concerns about possible violations of rules of proportionality, distinction and precaution by the Israeli forces in the raid.
At least 274 Palestinians including children and women were killed in the raid, the report quoting Palestinian officials said.
The report quoting Laurence also said Palestinian armed groups who are holding hostages in densely populated areas are putting the lives of nearby civilians and the hostages at “added risks” from the hostilities.
“All these actions by both parties may amount to war crimes,” he was quoted in the report as saying.
“It was catastrophic, the way that this was carried out in that civilians — again — were caught smack bang in the middle of this,” he added.
He also said: “The fact that four hostages are now free is clearly very good news. These hostages should never have been taken in the first place. That’s a breach of international humanitarian law. They must be freed. All of them. Promptly.”
Israel launched its war on Palestine after militant group Hamas on October 7 last year launched an audacious attack inside the country and reportedly killed some 1,200 people and abducted about 250.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed over 36,730 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies.
UN agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
Israeli Military rescues hostages: The Israeli Military has rescued four hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza after a "complex daytime operation" over the weekend.
The four hostages included Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. The four were kidnapped by the Hamas from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attack against Israel.
Israel has released a video that shows the moment three of the four hostages - Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv - were rescued.
