Israel accuses UN-OHCHR of blood libel over war crimes claims

Israel responded on Thursday to claims by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that IDF troops committed war crimes in the Al Remal neighborhood of Gaza City.

In a press release on Wednesday, the UN-OHCHR published a report that accused IDF troops of perpetrating a massacre of unarmed civilians in Gaza City.

The report says that the OHCHR received reports that the IDF summarily killed at least 11 unarmed Palestinian men in front of their family members in the Al Remal neighborhood of Gaza City.

"On 19 December 2023, between 2000 and 2300 hours, IDF reportedly surrounded and raided Al Awda building, also known as the “Annan building”, in Al Remal neighborhood, Gaza City, where three related families were sheltering in addition to Annan family," reads the report.

"According to witness accounts circulated by media sources and EuroMed Human Rights Monitor, while in control of the building and the civilians sheltering there, the IDF allegedly separated the men from the women and children, and then shot and killed at least 11 of the men, mostly aged in their late 20’s and early 30’s, in front of their family members. The IDF then allegedly ordered the women and children into a room, and either shot at them or threw a grenade into the room, reportedly seriously injuring some of them, including an infant and a child. OHCHR has confirmed the killings at the Al Awda building, although the details and circumstances of the killings are still under verification. IDF has not released any information on the incident."

The OHCHR called on Israel to investigate the incident and if the allegations are found to be true, to bring those responsible to justice and implement measures to prevent it from happening again. 

Israel responds

Israel responded to the allegations on X (formerly Twitter) calling them "unfounded and devoid of truth." Israel says that the IDF has already carried out an investigation based on the publically available information and found "no record of any operation, nor incident, in the Al Remal neighborhood in Gaza City that would support any of the allegations put forward by OHCHR."

The allegations made by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are unfounded and devoid of truth.The IDF has carried out an investigation into the claims based on the information made public and has no record of any operation, nor incident, in the… pic.twitter.com/sJJo8OgS3I

— Israel in UN/Geneva | #BringThemHome (@IsraelinGeneva) December 21, 2023

Israel then accused the UN of sharing unverified and unsubstantiated claims which Israel claims is tantamount to blood libel.

Israel called on High Commissioner Volker Türk to publicly withdraw the accusations made by his office, declaring it " further evidence of the partisan and prejudiced approach of OHCHR when it comes to Israel and part of a concerning trend of publishing unverified information."

"Israel is committed to the respect of its international obligations and forcefully rejects any allegations of extrajudicial killings. We will continue to investigate any serious claims brought to Israel's attention."