UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Israel's ground operation in Gaza City and called for an immediate halt to the “carnage“, stressing that “evidence of genocide“ is increasing, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
“The whole world is demanding peace. Palestinians and Israelis are desperately calling for it, and we are seeing a continuing escalation that is absolutely unacceptable,” Turk told AFP and Reuters. He added that the accumulation of war crimes and crimes against humanity is obvious, and the decision on whether it constitutes genocide is in the hands of the court.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the new Israeli offensive “completely irresponsible and appalling“. “This will lead to more bloodshed, the killing of innocent people and the endangerment of Israeli hostages“, Cooper wrote on the social network Ex, calling for an “immediate ceasefire“.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Israel “an enemy“ for the first time since the signing of the peace treaty 46 years ago. He noted that Egypt's position should change Israel's perspective on Arab countries. The head of the State Information Service, Dia Rashwan, confirmed that such use of the word "enemy" had not occurred since the time of Anwar Sadat in 1977.