UN human rights chief slams ‘inhumane’ Israeli order for Palestinians to leave Rafah

Israel’s call for Palestinians to leave eastern Rafah in Gaza is “inhumane”, Volker Turk, the UN’s top human rights chief said.

Turk says that Israel is pushing hundreds of thousands of people into areas with no access to humanitarian aid. He slammed the plan as “inconceivable”, warning an attack on Rafah would bring suffering in Gaza to“unbearable” levels.

“Gazans continue to be hit with bombs, disease, and even famine…today, they have been told that they must relocate yet again as Israeli military operations into Rafah scale up.”

“This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which have the effective protection of civilians as their overriding concern.”