On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an “independent, impartial and transparent” investigation into the “summary execution” of six Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.
These executions, attributed to Palestinian armed groups, are described as a “war crime” by the High Commission, which expressed its horror in a message published on the X platform. Volker Türk also insisted on the need for those responsible for these acts to be “accountable”.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other
This weekend, the Israeli army announced that it had discovered the bodies of the six hostages in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. According to the army, these hostages were killed “at close range” by Hamas. However, a Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, disputed this version, saying that the hostages had been “killed by gunfire and shelling by the occupier.”
The news of the hostages’ bodies sparked shock in Israel and intensified criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of not doing enough to free the remaining hostages. On Monday, US President Joe Biden, Israel’s main ally, also criticized Netanyahu for not doing enough to reach an agreement on the hostages’ release.
Despite international and domestic pressure, the Israeli prime minister reaffirmed Monday night his determination to maintain military pressure on Hamas, declaring that he would not give in to demands for an agreement on the release of the hostages. He also apologized to the families for not having been able to save the hostages.