Israel must 'stop' its attacks, and especially halt any push into south Gaza: UN human rights office

By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

GENEVA (AA) - The UN human rights office said on Friday that Israel should "stop" its attacks in Gaza, and pushed for a cease-fire, especially if it is pushing its operations into southern Gaza.

Taking questions from Anadolu in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights office, said that international humanitarian law must come first and foremost.

"So the protection of civilians, their property, their livelihoods, everything has to come first,” he urged.

“If they're pushing now into the south of Gaza, (the) ultimate call is for this just to stop.”

"The cease-fire has to happen," he reiterated, calling the current death toll in the tens of thousands "madness."

"There's only one solution, a cease-fire," he implored.

He said an expansion of Israel’s military operations into southern Gaza would worsen the risk, as it is already densely populated due to an evacuation from the north to the south that Israel ordered last month.

"The protection of civilians is paramount," he added.

Since Israel started bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7, at least 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,800 women and children, and more than 29,200 others have been injured, according to latest figures.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

An Israeli blockade has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries to a small trickle.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.