“We are horrified by reports that Palestinian armed groups have summarily executed six Israeli hostages, which would constitute a war crime,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote on Tuesday, September 4.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Tuesday, September 3, for an “independent, impartial and transparent” investigation into the “summary execution” of six Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, in a message on X.
High Commissioner Volker Türk also calls for those responsible to be “held accountable”.
Benjamin Netanyahu criticized
The Israeli army announced on Sunday the discovery in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip of the bodies of six hostages killed according to it at “point-blank range” by Hamas. But according to a Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, the six hostages were “killed by gunfire and bombardments from the occupier.”
In the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that sparked war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 251 people were abducted, 97 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 reported dead by the army.
The attack killed 1,205 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. In response, Israel launched a major air and land offensive in Gaza that has so far killed at least 40,819 people, according to Hamas’s health ministry. The majority are women and minors, according to the UN.
Sunday’s announcement sparked intense outcry in Israel and further intensified criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of not doing enough to free the hostages still being held.
US President Joe Biden, whose country is Israel’s main ally, himself criticized the Israeli prime minister for not doing enough to secure a deal on the hostages.
On Monday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that he would not yield to pressure to reach an agreement on the release of the hostages in Gaza, saying he wanted to maintain military pressure on Hamas.
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