GENEVA: The UN rights chief on Tuesday condemned Israel’s ground assault on Gaza City as “utterly unacceptable,” demanding an end to the “carnage” and warning of growing evidence of genocide in the Palestinian territory.
“It is absolutely clear that this carnage must stop,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said when asked about the launch of Israel’s long-anticipated ground assault on Gaza’s largest city.
“The whole world screams for peace. Palestinians, Israelis scream for peace. Everyone wants an end to this, and what we see is a further escalation which is totally and utterly unacceptable,” he said.
Turk highlighted that in recent days “we have seen expanding attacks in the northwestern parts of Gaza, where the population had sought shelter from previous attacks.”
He decried in particular “the ongoing bombardment of residential buildings, buildings that have served as shelters for people who have been displaced multiple times.”
“These attacks need to stop.”
He pointed out that the Israeli military “repeatedly claimed that it is targeting so-called terrorist infrastructure.”
“So far, we haven’t seen any evidence of this,” he stressed, emphasizing that “under the rules of war, an attack may never be targeted at civilians who are not taking part in hostilities.”
The UN rights chief stressed that “the people of Gaza cannot sustain yet another intensification of violence and destruction and killings and lack of humanitarian assistance that needs to come.”
“I can only think of what it means for women, malnourished children, for people with disabilities, if they are again attacked in this way,” he said.
Turk’s comments came after an independent team of UN investigators published a report concluding that Israel was committing genocide in its war in Gaza, which erupted following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack inside Israel.
“We see the piling up of war crime after war crime after war crime, of crime against humanity, and potentially even more,” Turk said.
“It’s for the court to decide whether it’s genocide or not, and we see the evidence mounting.”
![]()
UN rights chief demands end to ‘carnage’ amid Israel’s Gaza City assault
Short Url
https://arab.news/vnhfh
UN rights chief demands end to ‘carnage’ amid Israel’s Gaza City assault
- ‘The whole world screams for peace. Palestinians, Israelis scream for peace’
- ‘Everyone wants an end to this, and what we see is a further escalation which is totally and utterly unacceptable’
Koshary, a spicy Egyptian staple, wins UNESCO recognition
CAIRO: Koshary – a spicy dish of lentils, rice and pasta available at countless Egyptian food stalls – won recognition as a cultural treasure from the UN’s cultural agency on Wednesday, as Cairo makes a broad push to promote its cultural and historical identity abroad.
Egypt’s nomination of koshary for UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list comes a little over a month after its opening of a sprawling new antiquities museum – another move officials hope will highlight the country’s rich history and lure more tourists.
One popular legend claims koshary originated in northern India and was brought to Egypt by soldiers during the British occupation. But the dish’s origins can in fact be traced through a farther-flung, millennia-old lineage of migration, trade and conquest, food researcher and archaeobotanist Hala Barakat said.
EGYPTIAN DISH, WITH GLOBAL INFLUENCES
Lentils arrived from the Fertile Crescent more than 5,800 years ago, and rice was introduced from East Asia. Tomatoes and chilli peppers were brought from the Americas centuries later, while pasta noodles were a more modern addition.
“These components came together over thousands of years,” Barakat said. “Its name may be Indian, but the Egyptian dish has its own form – and even that varies from Alexandria to Aswan.”
“Koshary in its current form is the koshary Egyptians made their own,” she added.
Egypt’s nomination makes note of this diversity, highlighting the fact that yellow lentils are used on the coast, compared with black lentils in Cairo and Upper Egypt. Some households add boiled eggs, while in Sinai a similar dish called ma’dous is common.
Each of these variations is united by “the special flavour provided by condiments such as vinegar, garlic, and hot sauce, which are added according to preference,” the nomination says.
COUSCOUS, CEVICHE ALSO ON LIST
Making the intangible heritage list is mostly symbolic, and does not bring any direct financial benefit. Other dishes such as couscous – common across the Maghreb region – and the South American dish ceviche are on the list. Italian cuisine was also set to be inscribed this year.
Koshary’s popularity surged in the 20th century as restaurants and brightly decorated street carts proliferated near schools and stations. The absence of animal products has also made it a staple among fasting Coptic Christians and younger Egyptians who are going vegetarian.
Today, the dish is one of Egypt’s most recognizable features, according to Ahmed Shaker, the public relations officer at Abou Tarek Koshary, a popular Cairo restaurant that dates back to 1963.
“Any foreigner or visitor who comes to Egypt visits the Pyramids, visits the museum, and comes to Abou Tarek to eat koshary,” Shaker said.
The dish joins Egypt’s 10 previous “inscriptions,” which include tahteeb, an ancient martial art using sticks, and the Sirat Bani Hilal, an epic oral poem.
UNESCO’s new director-general, Khaled El-Enany, previously served as Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities, and has vowed to use his tenure to safeguard cultural traditions.
Egypt’s nomination of koshary for UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list comes a little over a month after its opening of a sprawling new antiquities museum – another move officials hope will highlight the country’s rich history and lure more tourists.
One popular legend claims koshary originated in northern India and was brought to Egypt by soldiers during the British occupation. But the dish’s origins can in fact be traced through a farther-flung, millennia-old lineage of migration, trade and conquest, food researcher and archaeobotanist Hala Barakat said.
EGYPTIAN DISH, WITH GLOBAL INFLUENCES
Lentils arrived from the Fertile Crescent more than 5,800 years ago, and rice was introduced from East Asia. Tomatoes and chilli peppers were brought from the Americas centuries later, while pasta noodles were a more modern addition.
“These components came together over thousands of years,” Barakat said. “Its name may be Indian, but the Egyptian dish has its own form – and even that varies from Alexandria to Aswan.”
“Koshary in its current form is the koshary Egyptians made their own,” she added.
Egypt’s nomination makes note of this diversity, highlighting the fact that yellow lentils are used on the coast, compared with black lentils in Cairo and Upper Egypt. Some households add boiled eggs, while in Sinai a similar dish called ma’dous is common.
Each of these variations is united by “the special flavour provided by condiments such as vinegar, garlic, and hot sauce, which are added according to preference,” the nomination says.
COUSCOUS, CEVICHE ALSO ON LIST
Making the intangible heritage list is mostly symbolic, and does not bring any direct financial benefit. Other dishes such as couscous – common across the Maghreb region – and the South American dish ceviche are on the list. Italian cuisine was also set to be inscribed this year.
Koshary’s popularity surged in the 20th century as restaurants and brightly decorated street carts proliferated near schools and stations. The absence of animal products has also made it a staple among fasting Coptic Christians and younger Egyptians who are going vegetarian.
Today, the dish is one of Egypt’s most recognizable features, according to Ahmed Shaker, the public relations officer at Abou Tarek Koshary, a popular Cairo restaurant that dates back to 1963.
“Any foreigner or visitor who comes to Egypt visits the Pyramids, visits the museum, and comes to Abou Tarek to eat koshary,” Shaker said.
The dish joins Egypt’s 10 previous “inscriptions,” which include tahteeb, an ancient martial art using sticks, and the Sirat Bani Hilal, an epic oral poem.
UNESCO’s new director-general, Khaled El-Enany, previously served as Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities, and has vowed to use his tenure to safeguard cultural traditions.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.