United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights: Israel Makes Gaza 'Unlivable'

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, warned that the Israeli attack on the city of Gaza, the largest urban area in the sector, aims to make it 'unlivable', expressing her concern that this attack also endangers the lives of the Israeli hostages.

This came during Albanese's statements to reporters in Geneva, where she said: 'Israel is bombing Gaza with unconventional weapons... It is trying to forcibly remove the Palestinians. Why? This is the last piece of Gaza that they want to make unlivable.' She added: 'The ongoing attack to control what is left of Gaza will not only destroy the Palestinians but will also endanger the remaining Israeli hostages.'

Albanese, the Italian lawyer appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, accused Israel of committing 'genocide', considering that the international community is 'complicit.'

For its part, the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva rejected these statements, describing them as an attempt to 'delegitimize the State of Israel.' It said in a statement: 'Her numerous statements have shown her willingness to go to great lengths to delegitimize the State of Israel,' adding: 'Albanese says that Hamas does not infiltrate civilian infrastructure, does not use civilians as human shields, and is generally not actually present.'

In response to these accusations, Israel asserts that its attack aims to 'completely defeat Hamas', noting that it has issued warnings to civilians to head to a humanitarian area in the south. However, the United Nations and several countries consider these methods 'forced mass displacement', pointing out that the conditions in that humanitarian area are 'appalling' with severe food shortages.

The genocide accusation is based on figures from local authorities in Gaza, which indicate that the ongoing military campaign for nearly two years has resulted in the deaths of about 65,000 people. Despite accusations from organizations like 'Amnesty International' against Israel for this crime, the United Nations itself has not issued such a ruling, as its officials believe that determining the occurrence of genocide is the 'jurisdiction of international courts.'

Israel categorically rejects these accusations, relying on its right to self-defense after the attack on October 7, 2023, which it said resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages.

In a separate development, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the inclusion of Albanese on the U.S. sanctions list due to what he described as her actions that led to 'the prosecution of Israelis in the International Criminal Court without legitimate basis.'

As a result of these measures, Albanese stated that her attempts to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings this September to present her report 'will apparently not succeed.'