Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli fire, according to medics, at Al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, August 28, 2025.PHOTO: REUTERS
Hundreds of UN staff at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have asked rights chief Volker Turk to explicitly describe the Gaza war as an unfolding genocide, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The letter, sent on Wednesday, said staff believe the legal criteria for genocide in the nearly two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have been met, citing the scale and scope of violations.
“OHCHR has a strong legal and moral responsibility to denounce acts of genocide,” said the letter signed by the Staff Committee on behalf of over 500 employees. “Failing to denounce an unfolding genocide undermines the credibility of the U.N. and the human rights system itself,” it added.
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The letter cited the UN’s perceived moral failure in the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed more than 1 million people.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which has previously rejected accusations of genocide, citing its right to self-defence following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages.
The Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 63,000 people have been killed since then, while a global hunger monitor says parts of Gaza face famine.
The appeal to Turk, an Austrian lawyer with decades of UN service, was backed by around a quarter of OHCHR’s 2,000 staff. Rights groups like Amnesty International have already accused Israel of genocide, while an independent UN expert has also used the term.
UN officials have said it is up to international courts to determine genocide. South Africa has brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, though it has yet to be heard on its merits.
“The situation in Gaza has shaken us all to our core,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said, noting difficult circumstances as the office documents violations.
Turk acknowledged the concerns in his response, seen by Reuters: “I know we all share a feeling of moral indignation at the horrors we are witnessing … I call on you to remain united as an Office in the face of such adversity.”
16 more Gazans killed
Israeli forces killed at least 16 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday and wounded dozens in the south, local health officials said, as residents reported intensified bombardment in Gaza City’s suburbs.
The military is preparing to take Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, despite international concerns that such an operation would cause significant casualties and displace around one million Palestinians sheltering there.
Residents said families were fleeing homes, heading towards the coast as Israeli forces struck Shejaia, Zeitoun and Sabra districts. The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday’s deaths brought the 24-hour toll to 71.
Israel describes Gaza City as Hamas’ last stronghold, following its Oct. 2023 cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. The military said it continues to target “terrorist organisations” and infrastructure, adding that three militants were killed in the past day.
Four dead, dozens wounded in Southern Gaza
An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson told Reuters that 31 patients with gunshot wounds were admitted to the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, four of whom died on arrival.
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Patients said they were shot while trying to reach food distribution sites. Since May 27, the hospital has treated over 5,000 such patients.
Dozens more were admitted to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. A doctor said the military opened fire near an aid site, with most patients suffering upper-body gunshot wounds, many in critical condition.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel’s military campaign has since killed over 62,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday that four more people, including two children, died of malnutrition, bringing such deaths to 317.
Israel disputes the ministry’s figures and has asked a global hunger monitor to retract an assessment that Gaza is experiencing famine.