Israel rejects UN resolution to hold it accountable for war crimes

Israel on Friday denounced a resolution passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The 47-member UN rights body on Friday also urged a halt to weapons sales to Israel for violations of human rights.

Meirav Eilon Shahar, Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN in Geneva, accused the UNHRC of having “long abandoned the Israeli people and defended Hamas,” according to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

“The decisions made today are a stain on the Human Rights Council and the UN as a whole,” she said, adding, “Shame on the council for adopting a resolution that does not even mention Hamas or its brutal acts on Oct. 7.”

During their nearly six-month-long military campaign in Gaza, Israeli forces killed at least 33,037 people in the enclave, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

UN experts have warned that the Israeli onslaught and blockade have inflicted starvation in Gaza as the supply of food, water, electricity, and gas to the Strip has been suspended since the conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.