The current context demands creating the political space for a way out of this horror, he told reporters from Geneva.

Targeted attacks on hospitals, schools, markets and bakeries, as well as the collective punishment, blockade and siege imposed on Gaza, are prohibited by international humanitarian law, he remarked.

Türk urged accountability for gross violations of the rights of the population while denouncing the abductions of civilians by the Palestinian resistance.

“I am on the side of all civilians, Palestinian or Israeli, who are harmed, or who live in fear,” he stressed.

The high commissioner rejected Israel’s order to force civilians in the enclave to move south, an area also unsafe.

Terrified and sometimes wounded families, elderly and children were moving slowly on a road cratered by bombs, he said, recalling that others unable to move were trapped in northern Gaza.

In that regard, he called for a moratorium on hostilities for humanitarian action, as called for in Security Council resolution 2712 adopted Wednesday night.

After several previous attempts and more than a month of conflict the long-awaited text urgently calls for pauses and extended humanitarian corridors in the enclave for ‘a sufficient number of days’ to allow full, rapid, safe and unimpeded access for UN agencies and partners.

It also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by the Palestinian resistance, especially children, as well as guarantees for humanitarian access.

Additional provisions call on the parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population of the Strip of basic services and aid indispensable for their survival, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The draft, prepared by Malta, received 12 votes in favor, none against and three abstentions (Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States).

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