Ex-UN Rights Boss to Head Probe Into Israel, Hamas Alleged Crimes

Outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay talks during an interview to Reuters in her office in Geneva August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
Outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay talks during an interview to Reuters in her office in Geneva August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
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Ex-UN Rights Boss to Head Probe Into Israel, Hamas Alleged Crimes

Outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay talks during an interview to Reuters in her office in Geneva August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich
Outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay talks during an interview to Reuters in her office in Geneva August 19, 2014. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

Former United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay will head an international commission of inquiry into alleged crimes committed during the latest conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, the UN's Human Rights Council said in a statement on Thursday.

The council agreed in late May to open the investigation with a broad mandate to cover allegations not just in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but also in Israel during hostilities that were halted by a May 21 ceasefire, Reuters reported.

At least 250 Palestinians and 13 people in Israel were killed in the fierce fighting, which saw Gaza militants fire rockets towards Israeli cities and Israel carry out air strikes across the coastal enclave.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the council at the time that deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza might constitute war crimes and that Hamas had violated international humanitarian law by firing rockets into Israel.

Israel on Thursday reiterated its rejection of the probe.

"Not surprisingly, the purpose of this mechanism is to find Israeli violations, while whitewashing the crimes committed by Hamas, a terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva said in a statement.

"As Israel announced immediately following the special session, it cannot and will not cooperate with such an investigation," it said.

Pillay, a former South African judge who served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008-2014, will lead the three-person panel also composed of Indian expert Miloon Kothari and Australian expert Chris Sidoti, the Human Rights Council statement said.

The investigators, who have been asked to try to identify those responsible for violations with a view to ensure they are held accountable, are due to present their first report in June 2022.



UN Chief Says Israeli Strikes in Yemen, Including at Airport, are Alarming

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
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UN Chief Says Israeli Strikes in Yemen, Including at Airport, are Alarming

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo

The spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned escalations between Israel and Yemen, saying Israel's airstrikes on Yemen's Sanaa International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations were alarming, Reuters reported.

Israel said it struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

"Israeli airstrikes today on Sanaa International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming," the UN chief's spokesperson said in a press briefing while expressing concerns about the risk of further regional escalation.