UN Rights Chief to visit Rafah crossing amid Gaza escalation

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, began a five-day visit to West Asia on Tuesday, expecting to visit the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, his office said in a statement.

The UN official is in the region to engage with government officials and civil society on the human rights violations taking place amid Israel’s escalation in Gaza, the statement added.

Türk said in a statement that “it has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair.” “The impact of this crisis has been dramatic – at the regional and global level,” he said.

Moreover, with international criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war mounting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Monday that Gaza was becoming a “graveyard for children”.