Olusegun Ariyo
Mirjana Spoljaric, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC, has claimed that Gaza has become “hell on earth”.
Spoljaric’s comments come amid a warning from the UN human rights office that Israel’s tactics were threatening the viability of Palestinians continuing to live in Gaza at all.
The ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, which is the internationally agreed rules of conduct in war.
ICRC usually takes a confident stance between warring parties when it thinks violations are taking place.
According to Spoljaric, what is happening in Gaza is an “extreme hollowing out” of international law.
The bombardment from Israel has killed 1,542 people since the war was renewed on March 18.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF, have also issued evacuation orders that have forced nearly 400,000 people to move while imposing a complete blockade on the entry of food, medical supplies and all other goods since March 2.
“No state, no party to a conflict… can be exempt from the obligation not to commit war crimes, not to commit genocide, not to commit ethnic cleansing,” Spoljaric said.
“These rules apply. They are universal.”
