The UN documents at least 24 Israeli white phosphorus attacks in the current offensive on Gaza

Israel has used white phosphorusan incendiary chemical that can cause “terrible and painful wounds”, at least 24 times in the current offensive against Gaza. In one specifically, on December 25, a baby suffered burns from white phosphorus in a school in the Al Bureij camp.

This is what a report 32 pages published this Friday by the UN Office for Human Rightsin which he collects testimonies from medical professionals in Gaza and in which he once again alerts the Israeli forces to possible crimes of genocide, war or crimes against humanity.

The report, which focuses mainly on six months of the conflict between November 2023 and April 2024, lists, among other things, six uses of the incendiary weapon in the capital Gaza, nine in the center of the Gaza Strip and three in Khan Younis. of them in refugee camps.

When white phosphorus munitions are used as a weapon of war, no distinction is made between military and civilian targets, especially when used in densely populated areas. Therefore, it is believed to violate conflict rules due to its random effects, in addition to causing serious environmental consequences, contaminating water, air and food.

In this report, the UN also details some of the countless cases of human rights violations, such as the use of hunger as a weapon of war, attacks on hospitals, ongoing forced mass displacement, information blackouts or attacks on civilian populations.

The head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Ajith Sunghay, told journalists that it was possible to confirm that the 70% of the dead and injured in Gaza are women (25%) and children (45%)showing that Israel has not had a minimal sense of humanity in its military actions.

He also denounced that, in addition to the human damage, Israel has continued actions aimed at “destroying the basic social structures and aid network for the Palestinians in Gaza.” Therefore it is believed that Their intention is to destroy the social fabric and cohesion among the Palestinians.

Sunghay added that Israel maintains severe restrictions on the access of humanitarian and medical aid, and that United Nations humanitarian agencies have had limited access to Gaza over the past month.

Calling all countries

Shortly after the publication of this report, the UN on Friday called on all countries, in accordance with their international legal obligations, to help prevent further crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza and to work together to ensure that justice is done in a variety of ways applying universal jurisdiction or extraditing potential perpetrators to face trial.

“States have a duty to prevent atrocities and we urge them to support the work of these countries accountability mechanismsincluding the International Criminal Courtspokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters at UN headquarters in Geneva.

Similarly, the United Nations calls on countries to adopt the principle of universal jurisdictionThat grants every State the power to try and punish the perpetrator of a crime, regardless of the place where the crime was committed and regardless of his or her nationality or that of the victim..

Laurence has also noted that states should consider extraditing suspects of crimes in Gaza to any country where they can be fairly prosecuted.

On the other hand, the UN has asked governments to carefully evaluate the situation sale or transfer of weaponsand any form of financial, military or logistical support to any of the parties in this conflict, i.e. Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.