Israel defends Gaza strikes during UN rights review
Published May 9, 2023 12:01 pm
GENEVA, Switzerland - Israel told a UN meeting Tuesday it was justified in carrying out deadly strikes on Gaza, even as its overall human rights record met resounding criticism from dozens of countries.
Following the pre-dawn strikes that killed 13 people, including several children, a representative for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintained the attacks adhered to the law of armed conflict.
"Today, following months of attacks against Israeli citizens, Israel began a campaign, Operation 'Shield and Arrow', against Islamic Jihad military targets, which is conducted in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict," Avishai Kaplan, with the IDF's International Law Department, told the UN Human Rights Council.
"Israel directs these attacks only against military targets and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate harm to civilians."Â
The Israeli army said that in its Gaza air strikes, it had targeted three leaders of Islamic Jihad, which it considers a terrorist group, as well as its "weapon manufacturing sites".
The Gaza health ministry said four children were among those killed and 20 people were wounded, some of them in serious or critical condition, after the attacks which left buildings ablaze and reduced others to rubble.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nation in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar insisted to the UN that the strikes were aimed "to restore peace and security to the citizens of Israel".
"We will not let these terrorist groups undermine the very strive to coexistence we all wish to achieve."
The Israeli representatives' comments came during a so-called Universal Periodic Review -- a process all 193 UN countries must undergo every four years -- where Israel saw its rights record harshly criticised.Â