International Concerns Mount as Thousands of Palestinians Killed and Injured in Gaza Conflict; Prominent Figures Call for UN Intervention

Prominent activists, politicians, academic and religious figures from around the world have written a joint letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urging the UN's immediate intervention to stop the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip. The letter highlights the devastating impact of Israel's military offensive, which was launched on October 7 in response to a surprise attack by the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement.

Iran (IMNA) - According to the letter, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported that nearly 6,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 15,000 wounded, with the vast majority being civilians. Shockingly, over 2,350 children are among the casualties, and an estimated 1,500 people are missing, presumed buried under the rubble, including more than 800 children. In addition, Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank have killed almost 100 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians.

The signatories of the letter represent diverse regions including Asia, the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Australia. They emphasize the urgent need for the UN's intervention to address the war crimes and atrocities committed by Israel in its attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.

In a recent development, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has taken the lead in spearheading a letter signed by prominent individuals. Among the signatories are Professor Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, head of the Iranian Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Professor Hamid Algar from the Department of Persian and Islamic Studies at the University of California Berkeley, former UK Labour minister Clare Short, and esteemed academics such as Professors Jeff Halper, Richard Falk, Ilan Pappe, and Avi Shlaim.

This letter comes on the heels of an incident where Israel's UN envoy called for the resignation of Secretary-General António Guterres. This call followed Guterres' statement during his address to the UN Security Council, where he highlighted the context of the Hamas attack by referring to the "56 years of suffocating occupation" endured by Palestine under the Israeli regime.

Israel, angered by Guterres' remarks, responded by halting the issuance of visas to UN officials. In an interview with Army Radio, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, stated, "Due to his remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives. We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths."

The signatories of the letter further emphasized that the occupying entity has blatantly violated international law by deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. This includes residential buildings, schools, hospitals, ambulances, mosques, churches, supermarkets, roads filled with fleeing people, and food production plants.

News ID 699120

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