GENEVA (AP) 鈥 The U.N. human rights chief said Israel's warfare in Gaza is inflicting 鈥渉orrifying, unconscionable suffering" on Palestinians and urged government leaders on Monday to 鈥渨ake up鈥 and exert pressure to bring an end to the conflict.
鈥淭he facts speak for themselves,鈥 said Volker T眉rk. 鈥淓veryone in government needs to wake up to what is happening in Gaza. All those with influence must exert maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas, to put an end to this unbearable suffering.鈥
T眉rk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session in a broad address that also raised concerns about , the fallout from , and China's human rights record 鈥 alongside wars and conflict in places like and .
As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 鈥 who has regularly spoken out about bloodshed in Gaza and called for the release of Israeli hostages held by armed Palestinian militants 鈥 T眉rk used some of his most forceful words yet to highlight the .
鈥淚srael鈥檚 means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza,鈥 he told the 47-member-country body, which Israeli authorities have regularly accused of anti-Israel bias. The Trump administration has kept the United States, Israel's top ally, out of the council proceedings.
Israel鈥檚 military campaign since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in Israel has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry. It says that women and children make up most of the dead, but it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva responded by accusing T眉rk and his office of been 鈥渞elentless in making irresponsible and uneducated statements regarding Israel鈥檚 conduct of hostilities 鈥 including reliance on information propagated by terrorist organizations.鈥 It called on T眉rk to "condemn Hamas鈥檚 declared strategy to maximize harm to the population in Gaza.鈥
In Brussels, medical aid charity Doctors Without Borders appealed to European Union leaders to use what leverage they have over Israel to end the siege of Gaza.
Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear described Gaza as a 鈥渉ell on earth,鈥 and said that almost two years of relentless bombardment has turned 鈥渢his narrow strip of land into a graveyard of shattered hospitals, mass graves and destroyed neighborhoods.鈥
Aid deliveries organised by the U.N. were cut off in mid-March, and violence has accompanied distributions of food from the , which has U.S. and Israeli backing.
Beyond the suffering of inflicted on in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders said its international staffers are living often on one meal a day, and some have been admitted to their own facilities for treatment.
The EU is the world鈥檚 biggest donor of aid to the Palestinians but has little real leverage over Israel. The bloc's 27 member states are divided in their approach to the conflict, although concern over the plight of Gazans has grown as the siege has dragged on.
In his speech, T眉rk also bemoaned an increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine, nearly 3 1/2 years after Russia's full-scale invasion. He denounced executions without a fair trial and 鈥渨ide-scale sexual violence, including against children" in Sudan.
Without mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump by name, T眉rk likened the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in April to 鈥渁 high-stakes poker game, with the global economy as the bank.鈥
鈥淏ut the shockwaves of a trade war will hit least developed countries with the force of a tsunami,鈥 he said, warning of a potentially 鈥渄evastating鈥 impact on exporters in Asia, and the prospect of higher costs for food, healthcare and education in places.
T眉rk expressed concerns about U.S. deportations of non-nationals, including to third countries, and .
The council session, which has been shortened by 2 1/2 days because of funding issues at the U.N., is set to run through July 9. The Geneva-based council is the U.N.'s top human rights body.
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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
