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Israel Issues Detailed Response Refuting UN Human Rights Office Accusations of Indiscriminate Bombing
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
Israel has issued a detailed response refuting a recently published report by the United Nations Human Rights Office accusing the Jewish state of carrying out several indiscriminate military strikes against Palestinians in Gaza, lambasting the UN findings as “flawed,” “biased,” and “legally unsound.”
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released its report last week accusing Israel of “war crimes” between October and December as the Israeli military waged its campaign in Gaza following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
OHCHR’s “Thematic Report” claimed that Israel violated international humanitarian law and should be held accountable.
“In view of Israel’s well documented failure to ensure full accountability for serious violations of international human rights law by its security forces, remedies at the international level are also necessary to address the accountability gap,” the report stated.
In the report, the UN office outlined six “emblematic incidents” in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allegedly struck heavily populated areas in Gaza without sufficient concern for civilian well-being. The six strikes highlighted by the report targeted residential buildings, markets, refugee camps, and schools.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas, which rules Gaza, has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the IDF.
Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’ widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
Nonetheless, the UN office claimed that Israel is responsible for “immense” death and destruction in Gaza and alleged that members of the IDF might bear “criminal responsibility” for recklessly killing Palestinian civilians.
In response to the report, Israel published a rebuttal to what it described as a “factually, legally, and methodologically flawed” assessment.
“It [the UN report] commonly relies on partial information and overlooks operational considerations and other aspects crucial to clearly assess the situation,” the Israeli response stated, disputing accusations of war crimes and other alleged human rights violations.
Israel notably challenged the way that the UN obtained its information, arguing that the OHCHR does not have the relevant “expertise” or the complete “facts on the ground” to make an accurate legal assessment of Israel’s actions.
“The document relies entirely on public information, ignoring the fact that often, information that formed the basis for military
attacks cannot be published,” the Israeli response stated, noting it would compromise ongoing operations and national security more broadly to disclose much of the IDF’s information or intelligence related to its strikes in Gaza.
“Since facts are the basis of any legal analysis, any ambiguity or incomplete information regarding the targets and circumstances compromise the ability to judge the legality of an attack,” the Israeli response added. “Therefore, the chosen methodology by which OHCHR analyzes these strikes, which includes mainly relying on alleged results and media coverage, leads to an inaccurate understanding of which targets were struck, the military importance given to each target, and
the operational constraints. It is clear that OHCHR’s note suffers from these flaws, leading to a misapplication and unjust accusations of violations.”
Israel also defended itself against accusations by the OHCHR that it had violated international humanitarian law.
“Hamas systematically and unlawfully embeds its military assets within heavily populated areas, and carries out its military activities, amongst, behind, and under its own civilians,” the Israeli government argued, noting that according to international law there are circumstances under which “civilian objects” can become “legitimate military targets” when they “contribute to [a] military action by their purpose or use.”
In its report, the OHCHR did not address how it distinguished between civilians and combatants in Gaza, instead focusing on how Israel carried out several strikes on Hamas targets in “a relatively small and dense area” with civilians as well.
The OHCHR also suggested that Israel failed to warn Gazan civilians of impending strikes in all but one of the six incidents it discussed.
In response, Israel reiterated its policy of warning Gazans by dropping “millions of leaflets over areas of expected attacks” and “broadcasting over radio and through social media messages.” In certain instances, Israel noted, the IDF even made “individual phone-calls” alerting civilians that they were in danger.
Israel also called out the UN office for relying on casualty figures from Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza. Experts have cast doubt on the reliability of such figures for systematically overcounting the number of casualties and not distinguishing between civilians and terrorists. In its response, Israel detailed multiple specific examples of the Gaza Ministry of Health releasing incorrect casualty information.
In one example, Israel highlighted how a male commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, which is allied with Hamas, was as a “female” civilian. Other examples listed known Hamas fighters as civilians.
Since Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages during their Oct. 7 onslaught, the UN has repeatedly lambasted Israel’s ensuing military campaign in Gaza to free the captives and dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, calling on Jerusalem to halt its offensive.
Beyond its formal response, Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva responded to the OHCHR’s report on X / Twitter.
“OHCHR has been echoing Hamas narratives and spreading unfounded allegations,” the Israeli mission posted. “This report shows the deep-rooted bias against Israel that has existed in OHCHR for decades. Regardless, Israel will continue to operate in accordance with the law, to protect its population against Palestinian terrorists, and bring back home the 120 hostages still held in Gaza.”
About half of the hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 were either released as part of a temporary ceasefire in November or rescued, some dead and others alive, by Israeli forces in special operations.
The post Israel Issues Detailed Response Refuting UN Human Rights Office Accusations of Indiscriminate Bombing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded
FILE PHOTO: A worker at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel sits at the arrivals terminal as all flights from and to the airport are indicated cancel, following an Israeli attack on Iran. June 13, 2025 Photo: REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum
Woken by air raid sirens, hurrying to bomb shelters, scouring travel sites for escape routes — thousands of tourists in Israel have found their holiday plans upended by the country’s conflict with Iran.
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in the early hours of Friday, shutting down the national airspace and telling people to remain where they were as the arch Middle East foes traded deadly blows.
The violence has left around 40,000 tourists blocked in Israel, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Airlines are cancelling flights until further notice, leaving travelers to decide whether to wait it out or seek costly detours through neighboring countries.
Justin Joyner, from California, is on holiday in Jerusalem with his father John, who lives in Nevada, and his son. They had expected some possible disruption, with Israel locked in a months-long conflict against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
But, like most locals, they did not foresee a whole new war.
“We didn’t expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,” Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, which, for the past two nights, has seen Iranian ballistic missiles flash overhead like a rain of meteorites.
“It’s unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That’s just something we don’t think about in America,” he said.
Dr. Greer Glazer, who lives in Cleveland and was in Jerusalem for a nursing training program, faces a race down 10 flights of stairs in her hotel to reach the shelter when sirens sound — as they have done regularly since Friday night.
“I feel safe,” she said, “but waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that’s been the hardest. My family is scared to death … They think it’s 24/7 destruction, but it’s not like that.”
THE JORDAN ROUTE
Glazer had been due to return home on June 29, but is looking to bring forward her departure. The easiest exit route is via land crossings into neighboring Jordan and then a flight out of Amman airport which has been operating in daylight hours.
Israeli media reported that the transgender US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who only flew into Israel on Thursday for Tel Aviv’s since-canceled Gay Pride Parade, had left through Jordan.
Hours earlier, she had been photographed drinking a glass of red wine in a bomb shelter. “What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat,” she wrote on X.
Not everyone is rushing to leave.
Karen Tuhrim is visiting from London to see her daughter, who lives in Tel Aviv. “Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I’m stuck,” she said.
Unlike Jerusalem, Tel Aviv has taken direct hits from the Iranian missiles and Tuhrim has had to dip in and out of her hotel’s shelter. But she said she felt safe and was happy to be near her daughter.
“For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we’re good.”
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has set up a round-the-clock virtual help desk in English and Hebrew for stranded travelers.
But for anyone stuck here, all the museums are closed until further notice, entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is barred to non-residents and many shops remain shuttered.
“The streets and shops are empty,” said Jerusalem resident Anwar Abu Lafi, who saw no quick end to the gloom.
“People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better,” he said.
The post Tourists Stranded in Israel as Sirens Sound, Missiles Fly, Planes Grounded first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters
Illustrative: A Magen David Adom ambulance. Photo: David King via Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel was struck by an Iranian missile, tragically claiming the lives of four women from the same family, including a mother and her two daughters, aged 13 and 20.
The missile caused severe damage, nearly collapsing the three- to four-story building where they lived.
Emergency services responded quickly, evacuating 14 injured individuals and providing care for eight others suffering from shock at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Despite the devastation, the community and first responders showed remarkable resilience and solidarity, working tirelessly to assist those affected.
Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adom, described the scene as one of severe destruction but praised the swift and professional response of rescue teams. Paramedic Adnan Abu Rumi, one of the first on site, emphasized the dedication of emergency personnel in managing the crisis.
Residents like Hamudi, who was injured but survived, shared heartfelt accounts of the sudden impact, underscoring the strength of families and neighbors coming together in difficult times.
The post 4 Killed by Missile in Arab Town of Tamra, Including a Mother and Her Two Daughters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
Despite evidence that the conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating, US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could help.
In a social media post, Trump said there were many unspecified meetings about the issue happening and encouraged the two countries to make a deal. And in an interview with ABC News, he said he was open to Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine and who has resisted Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire with Kyiv, serving as a mediator.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores.
“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran! Many calls and meetings now taking place.”
Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace. His assertion contradicted comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel’s campaign against Iran would intensify.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House were working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
Trump told ABC News that Iran wanted to make a deal and indicated something like the Israel strikes would accelerate that. “Something like this had to happen because I think even from both sides, but something like this had to happen. They want to talk, and they will be talking,” Trump said, according to ABC reporter Rachel Scott. “May have forced a deal to go quicker, actually.”
The United States has engaged in talks with Iran about its nuclear program and Trump has told reporters previously that the talks were going well. But another round of discussions scheduled for Sunday in Oman was canceled after the Israeli and Iranian strikes.
Trump said he and Putin had discussed the situation in the Middle East on Saturday in a call that focused more on that conflict than the Russian war in Ukraine.
“He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump said about Putin serving as a mediator, according to Scott. “We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved.”
Trump, who portrays himself as a peacemaker and has drawn criticism from his political base for not being able to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict, cited other disputes that he took responsibility for solving, including between India and Pakistan, and lamented not receiving more praise for doing so.
“I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The post Trump Sees Peace Between Iran and Israel Soon, Eyes Putin Role first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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