UN human rights chief condemns 'mass killing' of Palestinians in Gaza

8/9/2025 19:54

The United Nations human rights chief condemned Israel on Monday for its "mass killing" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and "hindering of sufficient lifesaving aid", saying the country had a case to answer before the International Court of Justice.



Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), stopped short of describing the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, as hundreds of U.N. staff had urged him to do.



But in his opening address to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk expressed horror at what he called "the open use of genocidal rhetoric" and "disgraceful dehumanization" of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials.