Israel shows unprecedented disregard for Gaza rights

GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters): The UN Human Rights Chief accused Israel on Wednesday of showing an unprecedented disregard for human rights in its military actions in Gaza and said Hamas had violated international law.

"Nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza which consistently breached international law", said Volker Turk, while presenting a new report on the human rights situation in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also accused Hamas of grave violations since October 7. "Hamas has indiscriminately fired projectiles into Israeli territory - amounting to war crimes", Turk said.

Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. An Israeli retaliatory assault laid waste to most of Gaza and killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health officials.