UN rights chief urges international probe into Israel-Hamas war violations

The U.N. human rights chief decried Thursday serious allegations of violations of international law in the Israel-Hamas war, suggesting an international investigation was needed.

"Extremely serious allegations of multiple and profound breaches of international humanitarian law, whoever commits them, demand rigorous investigation and full accountability," Volker Turk said in a briefing on the situation to U.N. member states, adding "international investigation is called for".

Turk also said he was ringing the loudest possible alarm bell over the "potentially explosive" situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"I am deeply concerned about the intensification of violence and severe discrimination against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," Turk told the briefing.

"In my view, this creates a potentially explosive situation, and I want to be clear: we are well beyond the level of early warning. I am ringing the loudest possible alarm bell about the occupied West Bank," he said.

Israel harshly criticized the U.N.'s cremarks, insisting international law is "not a suicide pact".

If a state cannot defend itself, "or is criticized for doing so in line with international law, inevitably terrorist organizations will become more and more emboldened to continue to deploy these methods, confident in continued international support," Israeli ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar said after the U.N. rights chief briefed member states on the situation.

Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi for his part told the U.N. member states that countries must "wake up" to the massive violations that Israel is committing in Gaza, insisting it was a "genocide".

"You should wake up in this room. This is a massacre, this is genocide, and we're seeing it on TV. It cannot continue," Khraishi said.