The United Nations' top human rights official has raised alarms over the deteriorating situation for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the extreme suffering in the Gaza Strip.

"The condition in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is sharply worsening," Volker Turk stated to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.

Keep reading

He revealed that from October until June 15, 528 Palestinians, including 133 children, have been killed by Israeli military or settlers. Many of these fatalities raise serious concerns about unlawful killings.

In the same timeframe, 23 Israelis, including eight security personnel, have died in clashes in the West Bank and Israel, as per the UN's high commissioner for human rights.

Two weeks ago, Turk remarked that people in the West Bank endure relentless violence. His statement came as the Israeli military detained at least five Palestinians in Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate, alongside a settler attack on Palestinian farmland reported by Wafa News Agency.

Overnight, Israeli forces arrested numerous Palestinians in Qusrah near Nablus, confining them in a school for interrogation, as per Wafa reports.

Statistics show Israeli forces have detained an average of 35 Palestinians daily since the conflict began. By June 1, 9,112 Palestinians were imprisoned in Israeli jails, nearly doubling the number since October 1, according to Palestinian prisoners groups.

Turk expressed being "appalled" by the lack of respect for international human rights and humanitarian law in Gaza.

"Over 120,000 people in Gaza, predominantly women and children, have been killed or injured since October 7 due to intense Israeli offensives," he said.

"Since May's escalation in Rafah, almost one million Palestinians have been displaced again and humanitarian access has worsened," he added. The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed more than 37,000 deaths and 85,400 injuries since October 7.

Turk also mentioned grave concerns about increased tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with at least 401 fatalities reported in Lebanon, including paramedics and journalists.

He reported that more than 90,000 people in Lebanon and over 60,000 in Israel have been displaced, with 25 Israeli deaths.

Israel's UN mission in Geneva accused Turk of ignoring the brutality and terrorism in his speech to the council.

In a broader context, Turk noted that conflicts worldwide resulted in tripling of children's deaths and doubling of women's deaths in 2023 compared to the previous year, with civilian casualties up 72 percent.

He criticized warring parties for overstepping legal boundaries and highlighted the increasing gap between humanitarian needs and funding, with a $40.8 billion deficit as of May 2024, compared to nearly $2.5 trillion in global military spending in 2023.