UN rights chief: Mounting evidence of Israeli war crimes, warns of genocidal rhetoric in Gaza

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk speaks during a press conference in Colombo on June 26, 2025. (File/AFP)
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Updated 08 September 2025
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UN rights chief: Mounting evidence of Israeli war crimes, warns of genocidal rhetoric in Gaza

  • Volker Türk accused Israel of grave violations in Gaza, citing “mounting evidence” that could hold it accountable before the International Court of Justice
  • He condemned genocidal rhetoric and the mass killing of Palestinian civilians, warning that the rules of war are being “shredded with virtually no accountability”

GENEVA: The UN human rights chief on Monday accused Israel of committing grave violations in Gaza, warning that mounting evidence could hold it accountable before the International Court of Justice.

Volker Türk, speaking at the opening of the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, said he was “horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric, and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials,” describing Gaza as “already a graveyard.”

Türk condemned what he called Israel’s “mass killing of Palestinian civilians, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the commission of war crimes,” adding that such acts were “shocking the world’s conscience.” He warned that “rules of war are being shredded – with virtually no accountability.”

The UN rights chief said the situation in Gaza reflected a broader erosion of international law, where “the glorification of violence is coupled with disturbing trends that undercut our rights across the world.” He urged decisive international action to halt the bloodshed, stressing that the mounting evidence of atrocities requires urgent accountability.

Türk also highlighted the crisis in Sudan, describing the scale of the suffering of the Sudanese people as ‘unfathomable’ and urging decisive action to prevent further atrocities.

(With AFP and Reuters)


‘Not your war’: Omani FM on US and Israel undermining ‘active and serious negotiations’

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‘Not your war’: Omani FM on US and Israel undermining ‘active and serious negotiations’

  • On Friday, Albusaidi appeared on US news show “Face The Nation” and said a peace deal between Iran and the US was “within our reach”

LONDON: Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who was leading indirect negotiations between Iran and the US in Geneva this week, tweeted his dismay at the attacks on Tehran this morning by the US and Israel.

“I am dismayed. Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” Albusaidi wrote. “And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”

On Friday, Albusaidi appeared on US news show “Face The Nation” and said a peace deal between Iran and the US was “within our reach.” He also said, “I don’t think any alternative to diplomacy is going to solve this problem.”

An agreement to irreversibly halt nuclear stockpiling and enrichment was reached, according to Abdusaidi — a feat never before achieved, and one of US President Donald Trump’s most important demands.

“Iran will never, ever have a nuclear material that will create a bomb. This is, I think, a big achievement. This is something that is not in the old deal that was negotiated during President Obama’s time,” the foreign minister said.

“They will not be able to actually accumulate the material that would enable them to create a bomb … So there would be zero accumulation, zero stockpiling and full verification.”

Early on Saturday, the US and Israel launched coordinated military strikes against multiple targets inside Iran, marking a dramatic escalation in Middle East tensions. The operation — described by US officials as “major combat operations” — involved air and missile strikes on key Iranian military and government infrastructure, including areas in and around Tehran.

Trump framed the action as an effort to degrade Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities and to remove what he described as “an imminent threat” to regional and global security.