UN: Attacks against humanitarian workers in Gaza may amount to war crimes

GENEVA – The UN Human Rights Office says that attacks against people involved in humanitarian assistance may amount to war crimes, following a deadly strike by Israel against aid workers in the Gaza Strip earlier this week.

“Attacking people or objects involved in humanitarian assistance may amount to a war crime,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence says. “As the High Commissioner has repeatedly stated, impunity must end.”

Seven workers from World Central Kitchen, which provides food relief in crisis and conflict zones, were killed when their convoy was hit on Monday night shortly after they oversaw the unloading of 100 tons of food brought to the Palestinian enclave by sea.

“The Israeli airstrikes that killed World Central Kitchen personnel underline the horrific conditions under which humanitarian workers are operating in Gaza,” Laurence says.

“International law requires all parties to respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel and ensure their safety, security and freedom of movement.”

He says the suspension of aid delivery and distribution by NGOs including World Central Kitchen in the wake of the killings increases the “already real risk of more deaths from famine and disease at larger scale.”