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UN expert says Israel’s Gaza offensive breaches international law
- UN rights expert says ‘Israel has done a number of things that are highly illegal, highly unlawful’
- Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which staged a brutal attack on Israel on October 7
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Israel has broken international law with its “relentless” bombardment of Gaza that has levelled neighbourhoods and killed thousands of Palestinians, a United Nations rights expert said on Thursday.
The comments by Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, came as Israel confronts a case brought by South Africa to the UN’s International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide.
“Israel has done a number of things that are highly illegal, highly unlawful,” Albanese told a Madrid news conference.
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While Israel has the right to self-defence, international humanitarian law must be respected “to protect people who are not actively involved in combat. Civilians, prisoners of war and the sick and wounded,” she said.
This meant distinguishing between combatants and civilians and ensuring military attacks are proportionate to avoid excessive harm to civilians, Albanese said.
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“Instead what has happened is over 100 days of relentless bombing – the first two weeks using 6,000 bombs per week, bombs of 2,000 pounds, in highly crowded area,” she said.
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