17 Nov 2023

UN experts point to evidence of 'genocidal incitement' against Palestinians

10:54 am on 17 November 2023
People search rubble for survivors and the bodies of victims in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 6, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)

People search the rubble for survivors and the bodies of victims in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 6 November 2023. Photo: AFP / Mohammed Abed

A group of United Nations experts said on Thursday there was "evidence of increasing genocidal incitement" against the Palestinian people in what it said were "grave violations" committed by Israel.

"We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire," the group of experts, which included several UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement.

"We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide."

UN experts had previously warned that the Palestinian people were at "grave risk of genocide".

Hamas fighters burst through the fence around Gaza on 7 October in an assault that Israel says killed 1200 people in the deadliest day in its history.

Israel has pounded Gaza with air strikes and cut off food and fuel. Gaza health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 11,000 people have been confirmed killed, more than 40 percent of them children.

- Reuters

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