The killing of hundreds of Palestinians in Israel's military attack on release of four hostages in Gaza over the weekend may be a war crime, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said, as quoted by the "Daily Sabah".
The UN agency accused the Palestinian resistance groups of the same crime of holding prisoners in densely populated areas, as quoted by News.bg.
Israel said the operation, accompanied by an airstrike, took place on Saturday in the center of a residential neighborhood in the central Nuseirat district of Gaza, where "Hamas" kept the hostages in two separate apartment blocks.
According to the health authorities in the enclave, during the operation at least 274 Palestinians died.
"We are deeply shocked by the impact on civilians of the operation by Israeli forces in Nusseirat over the weekend to free four hostages," spokesman Jeremy Lawrence said in Geneva.
"Hundreds of Palestinians - many of them civilians - were reportedly killed and injured.
"The manner in which the attack was carried out in such a densely populated area seriously calls into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution - as set out in the laws of war - were observed by the Israeli forces", Lawrence emphasized.
When asked about the figures provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health, he said that before October 7, when there was more opportunity for verification, the UN had consistently found that "the numbers they give us are almost accurate. at 100%".
Regarding the hostages being held in Gaza, Lawrence clarified that this is also "prohibited by international law".
He added that holding captives in such densely populated areas by Palestinian groups "puts the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as the hostages themselves, at additional risk from hostilities.
"These actions on both sides can amount to war crimes," he categorically stated.
The war broke out after the attack by "Hamas" on October 7 against southern Israel, in which over 1,170 people were killed.
Of the 252 people taken hostage that day, 120 remain in the Gaza Strip. At least 43 of them are dead, according to the Israeli military.
Since then, Israel has killed over 37,000 Palestinians - mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip.