Aid organizations are urging world leaders to use all possible tools to stop the Israel-Hamas war, warning that inaction will cost more lives. The joint statement from more than 20 organizations, released by Save the Children, came after a UN human rights commission accused Israel of genocide an allegation Israel has rejected, saying it targets the Hamas militant group, not civilians. At the same time, Israel has embarked on a major ground offensive in Gaza City.
After a night of constant and intense bombardment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced the start of an intensive operation in the city. Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Gaza is burning and that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is striking the terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist to create the conditions necessary for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.
Hundreds of United Nations staff have made an appeal to the body's human rights chief Volker Turk to publicly describe the war in Gaza as a genocide, saying his office's failure to do so undermines the global rights protection system. The appeal was made in a letter, signed by the Staff Committee on behalf of more than 500 employees at the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and sent to Turk on Wednesday.