The United Nations said on Tuesday that Israel may have committed war crimes as part of an operation carried out over the weekend by the Israeli army in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, which resulted in rescue of four hostages and the death of almost 270 Palestinians, according to a balance provided by authorities in the enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.

“We are deeply shocked by the consequences for the civilian population “The operation carried out over the weekend by Israeli forces in Nuseirat to secure the release of four hostages,” said Jeremy Lawrence, a spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

However, he emphasized that “according to reports, “Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, were killed and wounded,” emphasizing that “the manner in which such a densely populated area was carried out raises serious questions as to whether Israeli forces complied with the principles of selectivity, proportionality and precaution required by the laws of war.”

“Our office is also deeply concerned that Palestinian armed groups continue to hold many hostages. the majority are civilians, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law,” he said, before clarifying that “by holding hostages in such densely populated areas, armed groups are exposing the lives of Palestinian civilians and the hostages themselves to the fighting.”

Therefore, Lawrence emphasized that “all these actions on both sides “may amount to war crimes” declaring that the head of the office, Volker Turk, Welcomes the recent resolution approved by the UN Security Council calling for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, the return of dead hostages and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

“The immediate priority should be guarantee full and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to the desperate people of Gaza,” Lawrence said, adding that Turk also calls on all parties and third states, “especially those with influence on the parties to the conflict,” to “maximize their efforts to achieve a goal that Israelis and Palestinians can fully benefit from.” all human rights and live in peace side by side.”

Israeli authorities said that four hostages were freed during the operation – Noah Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrei Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, after which Gaza authorities said that the operation As a result, at least 274 Palestinians were killed and nearly 700 were injured.

Moreover, Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzeldin al-Qassam Brigades, later stated that three hostages which they kept with them, among them was a citizen with a US passport, died during the raid, which the Israeli army denies. “Your government is killing prisoners to save others, and time is running out,” the group said in a message to the families of the abductees.

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The operation is part of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israeli territory. They left about 1,200 dead and about 240 kidnapped.

Gaza authorities reported more than 37,100 Palestinian deathsto which are added more than 520 people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem who fell into the hands of Israeli forces or as a result of settler attacks.

(Europe Press)