UN Rights Body calls for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes

The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip. Twenty-eight countries, including Belgium, voted in favour. Thirteen countries abstained and six, among them Germany and the United States, opposed the resolution.

The resolution also called on the international community to halt arms sales to Israel. Though non-binding, it will likely raise international pressure on the country, signalling growing dissatisfaction with its efforts to avoid civilian casualties and abide by international humanitarian law. Israel has dismissed the resolution as distorted text.

The news comes after Israel said it would open new food corridors in the region. The Erez border crossing and the port of Ashdod will be reopened, while more Jordanian aid will be allowed to enter through a border crossing at Kerem Shalom. Netanyahu's pledges follow US President Joe Biden’s call yesterday for urgent action to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Earlier today the Israeli military also dismissed two senior officers for their role in the drone strikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza earlier this week. A swift internal investigation revealed that the army mishandled critical information and made serious mistakes. On Monday a convoy of aid workers was hit several times by an Israeli airstrike even though the aid organisation had coordinated its location and travel venture with the Israeli army.

^{A girl rides a scooter past the rubble of a destroyed building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip | © AFP Mohammed Abed}