UN expert Francesca Albanese warned on Monday that the Israeli military operation in Gaza city could have catastrophic consequences for the local population and make the city uninhabitable, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"Israel is bombing, using unconventional weapons... it is trying to forcibly evacuate Palestinians. Why? This is the last part of Gaza that must be made uninhabitable," Albanese, who is the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, told reporters in Geneva.
Israel's permanent mission to the UN's European headquarters in Geneva rejected the comments of the Italian lawyer. "Many of its statements have demonstrated its willingness to go to extremes in delegitimizing the State of Israel," the statement said.
The Israeli mission added that "according to (Albanese), "Hamas" does not (deploy its fighters in civilian) infrastructure, does not cynically use civilians as human shields, and in general does not actually exist".
Israel says its operation to take control of Gaza City is part of its plan to achieve a final victory over the Palestinian group. He also recalled that he had warned locals to head south to a designated humanitarian zone.
However, the UN and many countries say that Israeli tactics amount to forced mass displacement, and conditions in the humanitarian zone are terrible, with food shortages, Reuters notes.
Albanese today accused Israel of committing genocide and the international community of being complicit.
Some human rights NGOs such as "Amnesty International" also accuse Israel of genocide, but not the United Nations itself.
UN representatives have stated that international courts are the ones who should determine whether genocide has occurred.
Israel rejects this accusation, citing its right to self-defense after the attack on it on October 7, 2023, when "Hamas" fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. More than 64,000 people have died since the start of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
In July, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that his country would impose sanctions on Albanese for her actions, which he said led to the International Criminal Court illegally issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
Albanese said it was unlikely that US authorities would allow her to travel to New York to present her report to the annual session of the UN General Assembly this month.